Lane Kiffin: “No looking ahead” for Ole Miss with Vanderbilt up next
You wouldn’t expect anything different from any coach than what Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin had to say about his team’s upcoming game against Vanderbilt in Monday’s presser.
Even though the Commodores are 2-8, “beware” was the gist of it.
“All you have to do is look around the country and there is someone beating someone that shouldn’t. Kansas beating Texas, Florida losing to South Carolina, etc.,” Kiffin predictably said.
“There is no looking ahead. Vanderbilt is an SEC team and you can’t take any team in the SEC for granted.
“We are excited to be playing at home. It’s senior day, probably our QBs last game here, we want the crowd to show up and be loud. That’s my challenge – we need them. They showed up versus Texas A&M and we need them again.”
But first, recapping the Texas A&M game, Kiffin was pleased, for the most part.
And why not? A 29-19 win over a ranked team is pleasing, no matter how you cut it up.
“It was a great weekend and an awesome win. I am very excited for our players and fans,” he summarized. “It was a great defensive performance. On offense, we moved the ball well, but made a lot of mistakes in the Red Zone. They were little mistakes that turned into big mistakes. A guy here and there missing an assignment.
“We got a score from our defense and another short field they created and thank goodness for those two scores.”
Kiffin said the depth situation right now was a factor, but the Rebs were still able to win.
“As usual, we had to overplay a lot of our guys. Some of them played every snap,” he noted. “The kind of offense Texas A&M runs allowed us to do that, but that’s not what we want to do.”
The biggest difference in the defense, according to Kiffin, is players doing what they are supposed to do.
“(Safety) Jake (Springer) has been a big part of our defense getting better but overall that side of the ball is now getting where they are supposed to be and doing what they are supposed to do,” Kiffin said. “Plus, they are creating turnovers.”
Eli Acker got his first start in his collegiate career at right guard and Lane was pleased with his performance.
“I think he did a good job in a big game. He played against some very powerful players,” noted Kiffin. “For the first time, he did real well.”
Ashanti Cistrunk made two big plays late in the game, including an interception that set up the short field TD Kiffin referenced.
“Ashanti was in there for Tysheem Johnson mostly, depending on the defensive call, and he did a really nice job of making plays when we needed them the most,” Kiffin allowed. “I hope we get Tysheem back soon, but Ashanti did a good job in his absence.”
