If Ole Miss learned a lesson from the Georgia game and took it to Oklahoma, it’s that they can’t blow a two-score forth-quarter lead if they don’t have a two-score fourth-quarter lead because they blew a two-score third-quarter lead.
You know, strategery and things of that nature.
As we know, Ole Miss overcame the third-quarter unpleasantness by outscoring the Sooners 9-0 in the fourth quarter on the way to an eight-point win. Had Ole Miss not blown a coverage and a run fit on touchdowns of 76 and 65
yards, respectively, they probably cruise to a multi-score victory, but where’s the fun in that?
Despite the struggles in the third quarter, Ole Miss won, which is the only thing that matters. That they did this seven days after a collapse against Georgia speaks well of the team’s character and ability to reset the mechanism to blankness.
This week’s challenge is not about getting off the mat, but repeating last Saturday’s energy and focus needed to beat a South Carolina team that’s in a free fall, though capable of throwing a few haymakers.
What we know
“This the Head Ball Coach.”
Art:
Well, well, well, if it isn’t a few things that makes sense
Last week, I noted that the Ole Miss defense:
- Is good enough (not great) against middling to bad offenses
- Plays middling to bad offenses for the rest of the regular season
Against Oklahoma, a middling offense (outright bad at times), the Ole Miss defense:
- Had 3 sacks (6 total tackles for loss)
- Got a safety!
- Allowed 6 yards a play (bend but don’t break!)
- Limited the offense to 5 of 17 on third/fourth down (29.4 percent)
The biggest issue was three explosive plays that led to 17 points:
- A perfect 39-yard pass from John Mateer to Isaiah Sategna III (field goal)
- 76-yard touchdown pass to Sategna on a blown coverage
- 65-yard touchdown run from Xavier Robinson on a blown run fit
Outside of the two colossal mistakes, the defense gave up 218 yards on 58 plays (3.76 yards/play). Obviously, the mistakes can’t happen, but the other 58 plays showed what Ole Miss can do for the majority of snaps when not playing a good offense.
As I wrote about the defense last week, Ole Miss doesn’t play any good offenses over the next four games. Offenses capable of landing a few blows, yes, but having sustained success like Georgia and Arkansas, no.
I also noted this about Oklahoma’s defense last week:
Of note though, these are the SP+ rankings of the offenses they’ve played:
- Michigan – 45th
- Temple – 60th
- Auburn – 65th
- Kent State – 131st
- Texas – 58th
- South Carolina – 85th
Not exactly an offensive gauntlet. For context, Ole Miss is ranked 10th.
Against Ole Miss, Oklahoma gave up a season high in:
- Points (32)
- Total yards (431; previous high was 302 against Texas)
- Everything you can find in a box score
They’re the best defense Ole Miss will play in the regular season, and a dialed in Ole Miss offense had a good day against them. The point being, a dialed in Ole Miss offense should be fine the rest of the way, even against solid defenses like South Carolina and Florida. “Dialed in” being the key there.
So, to recap, Ole Miss will see middling to bad offenses and two solid defenses over the next four games. It would be cool as hell if they took advantage of that.
What we kinda know
Lane Kiffin owns property in Gainesville and Baton Rouge
Does he actually own property in those places? Who’s to say?
But we know both schools are at least interested, and the questions are how interested is Lane Kiffin and what does he value.
When people change jobs, no matter the profession, it’s for one (or more) of these reasons:
- Don’t like their boss
- Don’t like their co-workers
- More money
- Want to change fields
- Want a different challenge/more prestigious job within their field
When you apply this to Kiffin’s situation, the first two bullets don’t apply. His relationships with chancellor Glenn Boyce and athletic director Keith Carter are good, and the top item on their daily to-dos is making sure he’s happy.
As for the money, it’s wild to say money won’t be an issue for Ole Miss. Well, I should say reasonable money. I supposed either school could offer something insane like $20 million a year, in which case, I hope someone at Ole Miss would say, thank you for your service, but have a nice life.
Certainly, Kiffin isn’t going to change professions, unless being in Oxford and around Ole Miss people has him dreaming of becoming a TRIAL LAWYA.
“Objection, your honor. The prosecution’s line of questioning is some real loser shit.”
Another career shift could be hot yoga instructor, but it feels like the NAMASTE LIFE in Key West is maybe a decade away. Oh, and don’t count out Instagram influencer/have a great Tuesday motivational speaker.
And that brings us to the last bullet. Unless you know Lane Kiffin personally, this one is hard to ballpark.
Does he* view Florida and LSU as pinnacle jobs in his profession (at least in college coaching)? And by taking either, will that make him feel like he’s reached a professional mountaintop and get the prestige he thinks comes with that?
If his answer is yes, then Ole Miss can’t match that, and he’s likely gone. However, even if he believes those things to be true about either school, their situations are probably not what he imagined they would be.
*Lane Kiffin only and not idiot fans or media. None of their bullshit matters. It all comes down to what he thinks of those jobs.
Florida has no president, athletic director Scott Stricklin is not on totally solid ground, and the NIL organization needs work. That means he would be walking into a job with fair degree of uncertainty and where things are not ready to roll from the jump, assuming they can be made ready to roll.
As for LSU, BUDDY. They also have no president, and as of Thursday night, they have no athletic director.
What they do have is a weapons-grade loser and discount dipshit Huey Long governor who is apparently the boss of LSU and all coaches now. Oh, and this freak made it clear that LSU’s next football coach will have a contract with as little guaranteed money as possible. Sounds fun!
Now, none of that will matter if Kiffin’s idea of those jobs is powerful enough to overcome concerns about the dysfunction in every direction. If that’s true, I would say to Kiffin, do you want Jeff Landry, a shithead’s shithead, telling you who you can and can’t hire and how to do your job?
BRO.
What we don’t know
Being the favorite
Ole Miss will be favored in every game for the rest of the regular season. They’re a heavy favorite to make the college football playoff. How do they respond to that role? Do they play flat or tight? Do they use it is motivation? We shall see shortly!
