Lane Kiffin says Peach Bowl win is peak of 2023 season

Lane Kiffin was able to deliver a historic season for Ole Miss on multiple different fronts. One of them was the win department, earning 10 regular season wins for the first time in program history. By taking down Penn State in the Peach Bowl, the Rebels reached 11 wins for the first time. There were so many highs but Saturday’s win was definitely the peak.

“Well, this would be my favorite moment from the season because it’s the pinnacle of everything coming together,” Kiffin said. “Previously it would have been that LSU ending and that game.

“But to do it on this stage when both teams have a month to prepare and you don’t have a home-field advantage. You’re not playing at home, so there’s none of that. You’re playing in a neutral site. This would be the best part of the year.”

Tre Harris caught the go-ahead pass from Jaxson Dart with 39 seconds remaining in the LSU game. A seesaw throughout all four quarters, late-game heroics are always going to be viewed as great moments. Especially at home against one of the school’s biggest rivals.

Kiffin appreciates the overall moment of being able to win the Peach Bowl, though. Not just for a few hours at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Ole Miss put in plenty of work leading up to the matchup and it translated on the field.

“Again, not the last play of the game, which we’ve had a lot of those,” Kiffin said. “These guys have done a good job finishing those games off. But to really come out in that third quarter and kind of dominate a really good team in phases was really special. That’s what you really appreciate as a coach to see versus a ref’s call or the ball hits the upright or something and you win or lose based off of that.”

Ole Miss will now be hoping to bring the feeling of the Penn State win and translate it to the 2024 season. Kiffin talked about being able to go out there and dominate good football teams, something the Rebels maybe struggled with when going up against the likes of Alabama and Georgia.

Confidence will certainly be there moving forward. Especially with the influx of talent coming to Oxford via the NCAA transfer portal. Kiffin will have his team ready to roll and hoping for more special moments on the big stage.