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OXFORD -- Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin met with the media Monday, reviewing the 8th-ranked Rebels' 31-17 win over Vanderbilt this past weekend and previewing Thursday’s regular season finale in the Egg Bowl against Mike Leach and Mississippi State in Starkville.
Here’s a look at what Kiffin said -- and maybe, just maybe -- what he meant.
Opening statement…
What he said:
"Strange schedule this week; full practice today, putting all of the situations into one because today is our only real day of practice. It's challenging is what it is. Very good opponent coming up, extremely tough place to play. It's a very loud, foreign place that makes you have challenges on offense to have to play in a place like that. Best passing offense in the country, one of the best rush defenses in the country also. That gives you a lot of problems. They're very multiple, have a lot of really good, long, strong players on defense.”
What he meant: Yep, short weeks are tough. Everyone knows it, but then they roll around, and creatures of habit get freaked out. Cramming three days’ worth of practice into one session is brutal, but Ole Miss basically tried it and it is, as Kiffin said, “challenging.”
Kiffin has been to Starkville before, so he knows about cowbells and noise and all of that. More than anything, however, he knows the Bulldogs are rolling on offense and possess a challenging defense. After covering Kiffin for two years, I know when he respects an opponent’s personnel, and he clearly has respect for what he and his team are about to face Thursday night.
On what enables Mike Leach's offenses to continue to find success without needing to make adjustments each year…
What he said:
"It really is amazing and kind of goes against what you'd think. There's a thought out there amongst a lot of people, including coaches, that in the SEC people kind of figured them out and slowed them down throughout part of the year. Obviously that wasn't the case because now they're right back to where they started a season ago like that LSU game. They lead the country in passing offense. It really is amazing because you would not think that it could be so simple, and they do.”
What he meant: I thought this was a fascinating answer. Kiffin said out loud what so many SEC people I talked to a couple of years ago said — that Leach’s offense would fail in the SEC. Clearly, it hasn’t failed.
The Bulldogs have passed for 4,292 yards through 11 games. Do the math. They just run a few plays, but they run them to perfection. Like Kiffin said, it’s amazing something so simple works so effectively, but it does.
On if he noticed anything that changed for Mississippi State that turned their season around a couple weeks ago…
What he said:
"I don't know them that well or the order of their games and all that. I just know their quarterback's been playing really well, their receivers have made a ton of plays, and for whatever reason it seems that they start slow sometimes. I went back and checked the Louisiana Tech game, and they just put together these unbelievable comebacks. They just had another one against Auburn. It really has been amazing.”
What he meant: More respect. The Bulldogs have huge comebacks this season against Louisiana Tech and Auburn and damn near pulled off a comeback at Arkansas. When the offense gets rolling, it’s hard to stop. I sensed some concern, if I’m being honest. I think Kiffin knows there’s not much margin for error on Thursday.
On how he's addressed the team on keeping their emotions in-check for this big rivalry game…
What he said:
"Yeah, we talk to the guys when we're closer to the game so it's fresher in their mind where they need to control their emotions. This is the type of game where you can't afford to make those types of mistakes.”
What he meant: Just that. It’s a rivalry game and emotions will run high, but Kiffin has been through rivalries before — USC-UCLA, Auburn-Alabama — and he knows at the end of the day, it’s about execution and making plays.
On how the team is handling travel for the game and if they're staying here on campus the night before…
What he said:
"I guess it's too far. I'd like to just because I'd prefer it over staying in a hotel. I guess the travel then would put us too close to the game, so we're still going to do a ton of stuff here Wednesday and then basically go over there, sleep, and then go to the game.”
What he meant: Kiffin must be superstitious. If you think you’re 7-0 at home because you stayed in a hotel seven times, you are. That said, eating a pregame meal and then driving all the way to Starkville feels like it would be a bit problematic, so staying in Tupelo does make more sense. From the sounds of it, the Rebels won’t go to Tupelo until late Wednesday, making Thursday a fairly typical game day.
On how much time he was able to spend on Saturday's game with it being a short week…
What he said:
"We still did a lot and the staff went through it early Sunday morning. Players came in and went through it maybe a little quicker than normal, but I just don't believe that there's too much even though there's basically zero carryover between the opponents schematically. Still gotta make sure you're watching the effort and blocking and tackling and the big plays.”
What he meant: Coaches are creatures of habit. They can’t move on until the previous game is put away, and the previous game can’t be put away until the film is broken down. There’s always material to be taken from a game film, even when the next opponent is completely different from the previous one, as is the case here.
On his relationship with Mike Leach and if the toxicity of the game has gone down since both coaches' arrivals…
What he said:
"You know, I don't think I knew about the toxicity as you referred to it. I've heard about it here or there but, someone said it the other day that it doesn't really make sense to me or Leach now that we get along. Maybe we were brought here to bring us all together. We don't just hate people because they go to a certain school. I like him, I've always liked him. He's funny, he's done a great job wherever he's been, and I do think it's amazing how he's really not evolved. Usually if you don't evolve or don't keep up with the game, you're fired or you get passed by. That's why people who you grew up with around organized football aren't really around much anymore for the most part. Somehow he came up with something a long time ago that keeps working.”
What he meant: This was my favorite answer of the day, though I found part of it interesting. The two men like one another. And he’s right; it’s just football. It’s not war. The hate can be off-putting.
And clearly, as he said earlier, there’s a lot of respect on Kiffin’s part toward what Leach has done. Kiffin is a guy who has evolved offensively, from the I-formation to pro-style to tempo. Leach, on the other hand, has run the Air Raid, and somehow, some way, it still works.
On what he's expecting from Ole Miss fans in terms of traveling to Starkville…
What he said:
"I don't know that, so I'm not really sure. We didn't travel very well to our own game last week, so hopefully we travel to away games better.”
What he meant: Can I be honest? I sort of thought this shot at the fans was unnecessary and uncalled for. You make $4-plus million per year. Do you have any appreciation for what it costs an average family of four to attend a college football game? It was three games in a row. This one was right before the holidays. The students had gone home. Etc. I don’t know. It just felt like an unnecessary shot. It felt out of touch. I’m not a fan, so I don’t care. Whatever. But if I were a fan, that answer might have struck a bit of a nerve.
On how much preparation is going into the potential for it to be a cold rain game…
What he said:
"Well we only really had one real practice which was today, so we did use a wet ball for the individual skill players on offense. We actually have at times, for whatever reason, played pretty well in situations that were similar. We've had some where the weather didn't happen as much during the game. I don't know, people will tell you if you throw the ball 70 times that you probably don't want it to rain, so maybe that's in our favor.”
What he meant: Ole Miss is balanced. The Rebels like to run the ball, have a quarterback who can run. Rain might not be as devastating as it could be to a team that throws it as much as Mississippi State does. I suspect Kiffin wouldn’t mind the wet stuff falling from the sky Thursday night.
