Lane Kiffin reveals role Pete Golding played in bold fourth-down conversion vs. LSU

On Saturday, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin had a difficult decision to make against LSU. His Rebels were ahead 24-19 with just under two minutes remaining in the game. However, they’d been stopped three times and were fourth-and-3 on LSU’s 35-yard line.

If Ole Miss went for it and got the first down, the game would be over. Or, the Rebels could simply kick a field goal, go up eight points, and hope for the best. Kiffin didn’t leave fate in LSU’s hands.

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss found tight end Dae’Quan Wright wide-open for a game-ending 20-yard catch. After the game, Kiffin reflected on the pivotal decision to go for it on fourth down.

“I’d talked that through a lot in my head and had a feeling it was going to come down there somewhere between 4th-and-6 and 4th-and-1 or something,” Kiffin said. “I actually looked over to [Ole Miss defensive coordinator] Pete [Golding] and I said, ‘Pete, here’s the situation. I’m thinking of going for it. But we can kick the long field goal.’ And he’s like, ‘Go for it.’

“That’s easy to say when you’re a defensive coordinator. I just saw him on the way up the steps and I said, ’You know, hey, I’m glad we did that.’ And, he goes, ‘You would have never been able to live with it if you didn’t do it.’ So, that’s just how we play, and I’m not saying that arrogantly.”

The fourth-down conversion was far from the only excellent play call in the game. Ole Miss totaled 484 yards of offense in the victory. For reference, LSU’s defense is only allowing 293.0 yards per game.

Chambliss was key to the Rebels’ triumph. He threw for 314 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 71 yards on 14 carries. He wasn’t sacked a single time.

While Kiffin was happy with his team’s performance, he was far from certain they’d escape with a victory. Following the win, Lane Kiffin discussed how LSU’s decision-making left him nervous at times.

“[LSU] went away from analytics and didn’t kick on their fourth down to go to one score, which was highly abnormal, but they don’t really follow that stuff,” Kiffin said. “When you play somebody like that, it gets a little bit scary because they don’t really do what they’re supposed to do. And sometimes it works like it did when they made the fourth down instead of kicking it. But again, the players got to make the plays.”