Lane Kiffin explains love for 'rat poison' motto
By now it is clear that Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has a special respect for his former boss, Alabama head coach Nick Saban. He also has a tendency to push Saban’s buttons with his sense of humor. Kiffin’s adoption of Saban’s common phrase “rat poison” appears to be a little bit of a combination of both.
The “rat poison” storyline started in 2017 when repeated positivity and the media narrative that Alabama was basically unbeatable echoed throughout the college football world ad nauseam. Saban did not like the idea that his team was infallible and now famously used the phrase which Kiffin has adopted.
Ahead of the matchup between the Rebels and the Crimson Tide this weekend, Kiffin was asked when he first used the phrase coined by the legendary head coach and his former boss.
“He did not [use it],” Kiffin said in response to a question asking if he heard that phrase while he was working as the offensive coordinator under Saban from 2014-2016. “That was new. Somebody must have given it to him after I left. So I just think it’s really good, especially the way he explained it. It’s like drinking rat poison. That’s pretty good.”
Kiffin tweets the phrase often, especially now that his 3-0 team is gaining steam in the national media and his quarterback, Matt Corral, is a Heisman Trophy frontrunner. Yesterday he used it to describe this weekend’s matchup in Tuscaloosa, as Bama Hammer’s Ronald Evans stated that Kiffin has the best chance to be the first of Saban’s former assistants to beat him.
Expect offense, offense and more offense this weekend
On Saturday, two of the nation’s most dangerous offenses will take the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium in a highly anticipated SEC West showdown.
The No. 12 Rebels, who are averaging 635.3 yards and 52.7 points per game, will look to outscore top-ranked Alabama using Corral and his plethora of skill position weapons. The Rebels lead the country in both of those aforementioned categories, and the yardage number is particularly interesting. Ohio State is second in total yards per game in the country with 559.3. Ole Miss is over 75 yards ahead of the Buckeyes.
Their offensive abilities recently earned praise from Saban, and the Crimson Tide defense will need to be on top of their game on Saturday to stop Ole Miss.
Florida, who appears to be the only relatively high-level opponent Alabama has faced so far after Miami is struggling greatly, gave the Crimson Tide some issues. Like Florida quarterback Emory Jones, Corral has the ability to make plays with his legs. He already has five rushing touchdowns on the year in addition to nine through the air.
To date, Alabama is averaging 288.8 yards 17.5 points per game, which is an improvement from last year, but this Ole Miss offense will be just their second big test of the year.
The game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS. Alabama is a 14.5-point favorite as of Tuesday morning.