‘I’ve been critical; that was awesome’: Kiffin, players praise record VHS crowd after GSU
Ole Miss fans two weeks ago produced the second-largest Vaught-Hemingway Stadium crowd (66,427) in history.
For Middle Tennessee.
Georgia Southern was a step up in competition, but the name recognition was negligible. Ole Miss doesn’t open SEC play — against Kentucky — until Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.
And yet fans poured into Oxford with the largest crowd in recorded history (67,505). The critics — of which fifth-year Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has arguably been the most vocal — can give their public floggings a rest for a while.
“Good to get to 4-0,” Kiffin said following the Rebels’ 52-13 win over the Eagles. “The fans were great. To come out for kickoff and the place being full and every angle you looked it was completely full. That was great.
“I know the players notice that and recruits notice that. I’ve been critical; I want to make sure I point out, just like our players, when it was awesome. That was really neat to see.”
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Ole Miss (4-0) turns to its conference slate having scored the most points through four games (220) in its history.
Star wide receiver Tre Harris set a new career-high mark in receiving yards with 225 — the 10th 200-yard receiving game in Ole Miss history. Harris tied his career-best in receptions; his 11 are now the fifth-most in a single game by a Rebel all-time.
He added two touchdowns.
“We’re trying to be a violent team, first and foremost. An explosive (and) fun team,” Harris said.
Third-year quarterback Jaxson Dart has the most passing yards through four games of all SEC quarterbacks in the last 20 seasons. The Rebel defense gave up its first touchdown of the season finally. However, the Rebels held opponents out of the end zone for the season’s first 195:48 — the longest opening stretch for Ole Miss since 1959.
Harris continued, “All the fans, they come out to watch (us) put on a show. That’s what we try to do every single Saturday. All I can say is I’m appreciative of all the fans and all the support that we get.
“Just hope we get it again next Saturday.”
