First in the SEC West was on the line. Of course Lane Kiffin was glued to Tennessee-Alabama.
Lane Kiffin, just like the rest of the college-football-loving Ole Miss community, had just enough time to catch a good chunk of Tennessee’s upset win over Alabama on Saturday.
His Rebels (7-0, 3-0 SEC) earlier in the day had pulled away from Auburn for their seventh win in as many tries this season — a feat only accomplished by two other Ole Miss teams since the 60s.
He had a vested interest in the outcome. Of course, Kiffin previously coached at both schools, but an Alabama loss would have also put Ole Miss in the driver’s seat atop the SEC West, where is exactly where Rebels now sit after the 52-49 Volunteer win.
Ole Miss now heads to LSU for a 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff on CBS on Saturday.
“I sent a tweet as they (Tennessee) were lining up for the (game-winning) field goal,” Kiffin said. “The guy did jump through to block it, so it was kind of eery. I didn’t catch the beginning because we were finishing up here with recruiting stuff.
“But exciting game. That’s football. Goes either way. We get in those games like Kentucky. It’s funny for me to see fans and everybody when a game can go either way. One side misses a kick, one side makes it (and) the whole world’s changed.”
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The world’s certainly changed for Ole Miss.
The Rebels handled their business, unlike Alabama, which rallied back from a second-half deficit but still suffered its first loss to Tennessee in 16 games under head coach Nick Saban. Granted, Ole Miss had to fend off its own rally by an Alabama rival.
Ole Miss jumped out to a 21-0 advantage and never trailed, even if Auburn got as close as four points.
The Rebels relied almost exclusively on a running game ranked No. 1 in the SEC and third nationally, finishing with three 100-yard rushers in Quinshon Judkins, Zach Evans and Jaxson Dart. Dart was 9 for 19 for 130 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
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He had just 21 passing yards in the final two quarters.
LSU (5-2, 3-1 SEC) is a whole ‘nother animal, though.
Ole Miss could see the Tigers sell out to stop the run and force Dart to beat them. But if they do, Kiffin has confidence in the transfer from USC, who’s now made nine career starts, including six at Ole Miss.
Dart feasted against a similar game plan in a 52-29 win at Vanderbilt two weeks ago. Ole Miss hasn’t won in Baton Rouge since 2008.
“Two games ago, that happened a little bit,” Kiffin said. “We were struggling at Vanderbilt with some run stunts up front with what they were doing. Jaxson threw for 450 yards or something. We’re very confident. Every game’s independent. Every game plan is different every week. We’re a little unique that way.
“You never know what you’re going to see when you play us. We don’t just run a system. I’m not saying which way is bad or good, I’m just saying we change a lot, obviously year-to-year, but week-to-week. We just always try to give our players the best chance to win.”
Here’s everything else Kiffin said during his weekly press conference, in a video provided by Ole Miss Sports Production.
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