Lane Kiffin admits he doesn't think Ole Miss' opponents have prepared Rebels for SEC play
Through four games, Ole Miss has looked nothing short of dominant. The Rebels bring plenty of momentum into the SEC portion of the schedule, winning by a combined score of 220-22 en route to a 4-0 record.
To Lane Kiffin, though, Ole Miss’ opponents haven’t really prepared the Rebels for conference play. Instead, he’s hoping the performance in practice will pay off.
Ole Miss added talent in the trenches on both sides of the ball this offseason, which is why the Rebels are generating some College Football Playoff buzz. That influx is a reason why Kiffin said practice could help prepare his team for conference play more than the schedule.
“I’m a realist,” Kiffin said. “I don’t think our opponents have really prepared us for the SEC play. My hope is our practice and our fall camp has prepared us because we play against really good players on both sides of the ball. Defensively, we play against really big linemen. Same on the other way around.
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“The schedule, it is what it is. I hope that our practice has because our practice is similar to what we face.”
Ole Miss’ strength of schedule ranks 125th out of 134 FBS programs entering Saturday’s game against Kentucky, according to ESPN. The only Power Four matchup came against Wake Forest – a 40-6 Rebels win – and the four opponents have a combined 5-10 record. As SEC play begins, they’re now looking at the 25th-hardest remaining schedule in the nation.
Lane Kiffin has trust in Jaxson Dart amid hot start
Jaxson Dart has been impressive to start the season, leading the nation with 388.5 passing yards per game to go with 12 passing touchdowns through four games. When it comes to trusting his quarterback to make plays, Kiffin said it comes down to the relationship between the two.
“On the field, there’s a trust level there,” Kiffin said of Dart. “We spend a lot of time with them and then let him play on Saturdays. I think that you build that, especially for a guy we didn’t recruit out of high school, didn’t have a previous relationship. I think it pays off when you have a relationship and the quarterbacks trust you too.
“You go back to Matt Corral when he threw six interceptions and before I even got to media, sitting down with him and telling him ‘We got to do a better job calling plays. I got to coach better. Don’t worry, we got your back.’ I think that goes a long ways and it goes a long way with a kid in recruiting, knowing what they’re going to get when they get here from a relationship and they can trust us to have their back.”