Lane Kiffin calls out Ole Miss student section while criticizing red zone offense

During Saturday’s game between Ole Miss and Washington State, the Rebels’ students didn’t fill up their section of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Lane Kiffin noticed and called them out, along with the red zone offense, after the game.

Ole Miss went 2-for-3 on red zone trips in Saturday’s game, which ended with a 27-24 victory. The Rebels failed to convert on the opening possession, stopping short at the Wazzu 4-yard line. Ole Miss later got on the precipice of the red zone before settling for a field goal.

Suffice to say, Kiffin wasn’t happy with his team’s performance in those situations. But also didn’t seem pleased with the students’ turnout, either.

“I thought our Red Zone offense showed up about like our student section,” Kiffin said, via Brad Logan.

The turnout in the student section comes after Lane Kiffin issued a call to action for fans after last week’s win over LSU. He encouraged the Ole Miss faithful to come out to The Grove for the non-conference matchup against Wazzu.

“I challenge our fans to show up,” Kiffin said. “I was thinking, as fans, rightfully so, we can’t stand when a team comes out flat or doesn’t show up and waits a half to start playing well. That’s what fans expect of coaches and players. So, why wouldn’t we be the same? Last Saturday was electric here in the stadium and before on the walk. I understand a lot of it is because they hate LSU.

“But why not show up like that every week? This one, an early kick, it would be awesome our fans to do that and show up the same way. Students, everybody, because it’s the biggest game of the year, because it’s the only game we have this week. Let’s coach, play, and cheer the same way.”

The Ole Miss offense was on full display against Washington State, totaling 439 yards on the day. Trinidad Chambliss was impressive, going 20 of 29 passing for 253 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing score on the ground, as well. In the running game, Kewan Lacy had a huge day with 24 carries for 142 yards.

On the Washington State side, Zevi Eckhaus threw for two touchdowns as he completed 24 of 31 passes for 218 yards on the day. Kirby Vorhees had a team-high 88 rushing yards to go with a touchdown for the Cougars.