Ole Miss motivated by Rich Scangarello blitz comments this week

On3 imageby:Jack Pilgrim10/01/22

Kentucky offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello gave Ole Miss some bulletin board material this week — and it worked.

Following the Rebels’ 22-19 victory over the Wildcats in Oxford, coach Lane Kiffin revealed that one of the defense’s key points of emphasis was putting pressure on Will Levis in the pocket. Scangarello dared Ole Miss to blitz, threatening to light the defense up if it tried.

Kiffin called his bluff.

“Well we rushed (Levis), you know,” Kiffin said on the ESPN broadcast after the game. “They were motivated all week by their offensive coordinator saying, ‘bring the blitz, we’ll light you up,’ so there you go.”

The Ole Miss defense picked up three sacks and nine total tackles for loss, with Levis regularly finding himself taking hits. The pressure also resulted in two brutal fumbles for the Kentucky quarterback in the final three minutes of the game, the first on a scramble fighting for the first down and the second on a strip-sack in the pocket — both in the red zone.

“It was really cool to come to two stops like that, get the ball back,” Kiffin added. “Awesome to see.”

Scangarello encouraged Ole Miss and all of Kentucky’s future opponents to continue pressuring Levis and accept the consequences that follow.

“I hope they do,” Scangarello said this week. “Literally, this offense is built for pressure and I love it. Will and I talk about it every week, like, they’ll learn at some point. Keep bringing it, I hope you do.”

Unfortunately for Scangarello, Levis and the Kentucky offense, it was Ole Miss that won that head-to-head battle. The UK quarterback finished with 220 yards and two touchdowns on 18-24 passing to go with two fumbles. As a team, the Wildcats finished with 328 total yards and 17 first downs compared to 399 yards and 19 first downs for the Rebels.

Kentucky is typically the team using disrespect to its advantage. This time, it was Ole Miss finding and using the added motivation.

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2024-03-28