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'We have a lot to work on': Lane Kiffin is not worried about an emotional letdown after LSU

11by: Jake Thompson10/02/23JakeThompsonOn3
NCAA Football: Louisiana State at Mississippi
Sep 30, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin (left) watches from the sidelines during the first half against the LSU Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Last week Lane Kiffin compared the start of this season to the start of the 2021 season and not how the season went in 2022 after Ole Miss lost to Alabama.

Two years ago the Rebels lost to Alabama at Tuscaloosa but then rattled off two key wins over Arkansas at home and Tennessee. The win over the Razorbacks was a 52-51 shootout that took an emotional toll but kept the season on the tracks.

Sound familiar?

Well, it should because Kiffin is proving to be prophetic a week after dropping another game at Alabama. Ole Miss bounced back in similar fashion this year with another shootout victory, this time a 55-49 win over LSU.

The seven days between the loss to the Crimson Tide and the thriller against the Tigers had a roller coaster of emotions. A week that could take its toll on a team that felt at its lowest point only to reach the highest of highs the following Saturday.

Ole Miss did not seem to let that emotional dropoff affect them on its road trip to Knoxville in 2021, but how does Kiffin keep that from happening this year?

Keeping his team humble and aware of more work to be done.

“I’m sure for two days they heard how great they were outside of here. So, made sure they saw we made a lot of mistakes in that game. In all three phases,” Kiffin said. “Way too many penalties. Poor decisions, selfish decisions on some penalties because players are frustrated and that can’t happen. So, we have a lot to work on.”

Ole Miss now flips the page on the LSU game and turns ahead to the next challenge, which coincidentally is the aforementioned Arkansas.

Related: Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart honored by SEC after self-described ‘legacy’ win over LSU

When Ole Miss and the Razorbacks played in Oxford last time all the records books for offense were thrown out the window.

Similar to how the Rebels and LSU made their respective defensive coordinators have an unenjoyable time reviewing film on Sunday, same can be said for when Arkansas came to town in 2021.

What happened the following week was the Ole Miss defense holding the Tennessee offense to nearly half the points it allowed Arkansas to score the week prior.

This is now the challenge for Kiffin if he wants to keep mirroring the response by the Rebels after that 2021 loss to the Crimson Tide.

In 2023 this Arkansas team is scuffling coming into this week’s game. Losers of their last three the Razorbacks are trying to shake off back-to-back conference losses to LSU and most recently Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium in Dallas last weekend.

Kiffin is still well aware of what Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson is capable of. Two years ago Jefferson threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns as well as ran for 85 yards and another three touchdowns.

“I think he gets bigger every year,” Kiffin said in jest when asked about Jefferson’s growth. “This guy, he’s so hard to bring down. So challenging to play against and always brings his great game against us, also. We got to tackling him really well. We got to cover him because he makes so many plays out of rhythm by scrambling. Has very good vision downfield.”

There is plenty of homework for Ole Miss to do this week to keep their focus on what is in front of them and not what has already been accomplished.

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