Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss' focus is on 'huge game' vs. Georgia, not helping Tennessee

When Georgia and Ole Miss meet this weekend, there will be plenty at stake, not the least of which is the leadership in the SEC East.

Georgia currently sits atop the division with a 6-0 mark, but the Bulldogs have yet to play the Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee is 3-2 in conference play, but could theoretically get back in the race with a Georgia upset this weekend.

Does Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin care about helping the program he once coached?

“No, sorry. I mean obviously we’ve got a huge game, a huge motivation to do something that nobody’s done there in over five years,” Kiffin said Wednesday on an SEC teleconference call. “Nobody’s won at Georgia. So if we can pull that off and that helps Tennessee, then I’m happy for Tennessee.”

Ole Miss, of course, will have its own motivation.

The Rebels are ranked No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings and have a chance at playing their way into the field still, even with the SEC West looking like a long shot thanks to Alabama sitting at 6-0 in conference play.

There’s even the remote possibility that Alabama could lose its final two games at Kentucky and at Auburn, cracking the door open for Ole Miss to reach the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. That seems a bit unlikely, though.

Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss playing with nothing to lose

Because some of the above scenarios are a little far-fetched, Ole Miss can play with nothing to lose against Georgia this weekend.

“We’re not worried about the SEC West champs right now. Part of that is out of our control. We’re worried about preparing well today and going to play the most challenging game that you could possibly have – the two-time defending national champs,” Lane Kiffin said. “Like I said, they haven’t lost there since before COVID, five years.

“They do a great job on offense, defense, special teams. And have elite coaching to match elite players and an elite crowd. This is the trifecta of tests here so this will be fun.”

Ole Miss will enter as a two-score underdog, but the Rebels plan to take things one day at a time.

“We’ve just got to keep playing well, find a way to win the games. Get to 1-0 each week and then worry about the next week after that,” said Kiffin. “Like I said, this is a giant challenge – the biggest one you could possibly have, double-digit underdogs.

“No one is expecting us to have a chance so it’s kind of like playing with house money. What do we have to lose? Let’s just go out and take a shot.”