Everything Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said after South Carolina's 27-3 loss

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin spoke to the media following the team’s 27-3 win over South Carolina on Saturday. Here’s what he had to say.

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Opening statement

“I want to first say something. Our thoughts and prayers to (Ole Miss law professor) Ron and Claire Rychlak, who tragically lost a son this week. The service was today. He’s had a major impact on so many students and faculty at the university for a long time. So, our thoughts and prayers, first off, this whole week and today, for their family.

“I thought that this was a really hard week, switching back to football. This was a really hard week of that loss. I thought we got probably the worst feeling after a loss in the most amount of days since you’ve been here in a game. Our fans are going to be mad because we lost. We just handed that thing away in so many ways. It was so not what we thought they were going to play like.

“So, our guys who battled this week. We battled through that so it didn’t let it affect a second game. Any time a game’s a 24-point game that we fumble going in (the end zone) and miss some other wide open people, that means a lot of people are doing right. So, I’m really pleased with our players that they came back because, I’ve said before, you can win a one-score game when the ball goes in our out on a kick. But when you come in on the road to a really hard place against a team that really, was going up to scores to be undefeated and gets a fluke penalty against LSU – that’s probably the 10th-ranked team in the country, undefeated, that we just played. So, (I’m) really proud of our coaches, players and how they showed up today.”

On capitalizing on South Carolina’s early mistakes

“It was really good. Credit to our special teams incredibly our special teams and defense. We had a feeling that’d fake a punt. We played a lot of punt-safe where you saw Walter (Nolen) rushing and stuff like that just to be safe in the first part of the season. So, we thought they might do something like that and run inside.

“(I’m) really glad that our coaches did good, and the players made the play. It’s a big momentum, and I just thought it was a really clean game, for the most part, especially how we had been. We’ve been the most penalized defense in America in through five games. So, it’s exciting when players respond to what we spent all week harping on, and they did a really good job, right from the beginning. That’s a really good defensive performance there against two quarterbacks that are tough sometimes because, even when you cover people, they’re hard to catch.”

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On Suntarine Perkins’ performance

“I just love when a kid fights though, and everybody wants to leave, especially when they’re a high-recruited kid, because everything’s not going their way early. He just keeps working, so it was awesome for him to get a big-time chance today and make plays. For our team, the left tackle was out, and Princely (Umanmielen) was out, so guys stepped up with some guys hurt, which is awesome. And Tre Harris, the most productive receiver in the country, didn’t come back to play for the whole second half, so (it was a really good job by guys of stepping up.”

On what makes JJ Pegues a reliable goal-line option

“He’s just so unique. He can run really well. He’s got great feet for 300 pounds. We’ve done that stuff all offseason preparing for goal-line, short-yard situations, and utilizing our team outside the box. We don’t have big running backs. We had one, (and) now we don’t, so we found one. He was just on the D-line.

“He’s just really unique and really special. And, actually, his touchdown before (halftime), we actually put that play in, so it says a lot about him – that we can install a play with a D-lineman in a mis-direction play, and then, he could execute at quarterback.”

On Ole Miss’ offensive performance without Harris

“I thought we were big-little. And, again, obviously, Juice (Wells) should’ve switched hands, or we’re talking about a different score – and two different double-moves that Jaxson (Dart) misses that he took advantage of what they were doing. I thought it got a little hit-and-miss, got a little big-little because of that.

“And those guys have really good players. Those are two really unique ends. That freshman (Dylan Stewart) is going to be a phenomenal player. He is a phenomenal player. Those guys give you problems, especially in this stadium because of their pass rush and the style that they play in.”

On whether Dart’s runs were designed or options

“Well, they weren’t scrambles – some were called runs. He makes a couple that are big conversions late, to keep that drive (alive) – which was really good because, even though it (the lead) was three scores, the defense had played a lot, and we’d had them backed up with a three-and-out. We were just trying to use up all the clock and get out of here with a win, and Jaxson made some good runs on those. So, a lot of those were called runs or because they’re playing the running back, and he’s going to pull it.

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On the importance of Dart’s cadence in drawing offsides penalties

“Well, he didn’t have a cadence. He just claps, and they jump. But it was a big part of the plan because they do a great job. They uniquely rush, and that was a big part of the plan because we double clap sometimes because we couldn’t let them get off because they’re so wide and give their tackles a lot of problems. LSU’s left tackle is great, and he had problems. So, that was a big part of the plan. Even when it doesn’t work, it makes them slow down.”

On Nolen’s influence on Ole Miss’ defensive line

“I thought Walter was really good today. I mean, they hold him a lot every week, and they were holding him a lot today. We got out holdings fixed on defense, and I keep telling the refs, ‘Okay, well, we’re fixing ours, but then they keep holding our D-linemen, especially Walter.'” But (I) was just proud of him because I talked to him a lot about, ‘It’s going to be a long game. It’s a hot game. You’re going to play a lot. And, just, like a fighter, just go out there, don’t waste a lot of energy between rounds.’ And I thought he did a really good job.

“You see these massive celebrations and all that, and I just told the guys, ‘Expect to make plays. Last week, every time we made a play, we had that celebration of the year. So, just except to make plays. Watch our offense – we don’t celebrate first downs. You can celebrate a touchdown, but that’s it.’ So, I was proud of the way Walter played.”

On the effectiveness of helmet communication at Williams-Brice Stadium

“I thought we kind of took them out with the game going our direction. Obviously, with halftime, a number of people left, so that really wasn’t an issue ever in the second half. I think when we make first downs, it’s kind of hard for the crowd noise to be a major impact against this system. Tennesee’s the same way. When you go on the road, you make some first downs, you play so fast that, I say, the crowd kind of doesn’t know when to cheer. It’s not the traditional, ‘Okay, they walk to the line, and they snap the ball. Now, if you don’t make the first downs, it’s a problem. But I thought our guys did a good job with it today.”

On Ole Miss’ health ahead of game against LSU next week

“(LSU is) another team we’re going to get off a bye. (Our starting) left tackle didn’t play today. Princely didn’t play the right end. So, that’s good job of guys stepping up, and good job of developing depth. But we’re going to get another team coming off a bye – which, people might make a big deal out of it, but I think it’s overrated. Analytics show that your win percentage after byes – you can’t really put much to it. So, it is what it is.”

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