Lane Kiffin Knows Non-Conference Opponents Didn't Prepare Ole Miss for the SEC

If it Just Means More in the SEC, the rest of the Ole Miss football schedule means less than less. That sentiment isn’t one exclusively shared by rival fanbases. Lane Kiffin dismissed the lessons his team learned through the first four weeks of the season.

Ole Miss outscored its first four opponents 220-22. They didn’t allow a touchdown until the second quarter of the 52-13 week four win over Georgia Southern. This run includes a blowout win on the road over a Wake Forest team who got beat so badly, that they bought out the return trip to Oxford for next season.

“They ain’t played nobody PAWL!” isn’t just something being said by callers on the SEC Network afternoon show. The Ole Miss head coach doesn’t believe the first four games adequately prepared his team for SEC play.

“I’m a realist. I don’t think our opponents have really prepared us for the SEC play,” Kiffin said Monday afternoon.

“What 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, and the same the other way around. The schedule, it is what it is. I hope that our practice has (prepared us) because our practice is similar to what we face.”

Kentucky is No. 23 in this week’s SP+ rankings. Wake Forest is the only Top 100 team Ole Miss has faced and they are No. 81.

“We’re going to find out a lot more (on Saturday),” said Kiffin. “It’s not why I’m not making big statements about where we’re ranked or how good we are on offense or defense. I’ve said we got a chance to be really elite and really good, but we’re gonna have to prove that against bigger and better players.”

Ole Miss has the top scoring offense and passing offense in the country. They rank No. 1 in yards per game with more than 670 per contest. Jaxson Dart has almost 30 more passing yards per game than the next closest quarterback and he’s completing just shy of 80% of his passes.

Mark Stoops is well aware of the competition Ole Miss has faced thus far. In his eyes, it does not completely diminish their firepower.

“They are a very good football team and they have been able to do what they want,” said the Kentucky head coach. “They have worked a lot on themselves and are gearing up. It doesn’t matter the competition or who they have played, they are a top team and they have played like it, that’s for sure.”