OXFORD — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin had a simple message for his team a few days after its double-digit win over Oklahoma.
Enjoy it.
The No. 19 Rebels (6-2, 2-2 SEC) were favored by 20 points over the Sooners but actually trailed 14-10 at halftime. Ole Miss was dominant in the second half and outscored the Sooners 16-0 and held them to less than 100 yards of offense. Ole Miss actually fell a spot in the AP Poll after the victory.
But given what the Rebels have already experienced this season in conference play — losses to Kentucky and LSU by a combined six points — Kiffin made sure to let his team know it was a job well done, despite what pundits may say.
“I told our guys today, don’t let people outside of this room steal your joy about winning in the SEC — especially by two scores — and dominating the second half,” Kiffin said. “So, it’s kind of the world we live in around here now, people have these expectations that, you have to win by so many points. And I think that probably happens at a lot of places with playoffs and all the fan excitement about that.
“ … There’s things to work on, but also enjoy it too or you just kind of end up winning and being miserable.”
Up next for the Rebels is Arkansas (5-3, 3-2), who defeated Mississippi State 58-25 last weekend in Starkville. Ole Miss has not defeated the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Arkansas since 2018 but has won four of the last six meetings between the teams overall. The last time the teams met at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium was a 42-27 Arkansas win in 2022, when the Razorbacks ran for 335 yards. Kiffin is 2-2 against Arkansas.
Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman hired former Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino to run the offense this season, and the results have been positive — Arkansas is averaging 6.6 more points per game than it did a season ago and has three games with at least 600 yards of offense this year. It will mark the second year in a row the Rebels face Petrino, as he was the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M in 2023.
Defensively, the Razorbacks are giving up 21.8 points per game compared to 27.9 last season. Arkansas has already won more games than it did in 2023.
“I think that they’re big up front (defensively),” Kiffin said. “I think they’re really physical, they plugged in some portal guys at linebacker and DB … I think they always play tough.”
Kiffin was also asked Monday about the status of star defensive tackle Walter Nolen, who left the Oklahoma game with an injury.
“He said he was not able to go back in. So, hopefully he’ll be better this week.”
Suntarine Perkins earns SEC honor
Rebels sophomore defensive end Suntarine Perkins was named SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week following his four-sack performance against Oklahoma. Perkins is tied for fourth-nationally in sacks with 8.5. His four sacks were the most for an Ole Miss player in a game since 1993, and the Rebels’ 10 sacks against the Sooners was tied for the second-most in program history. It’s Perkins second SEC award of the season.
Ole Miss-Georgia time announced
The Rebels’ matchup against Georgia on Nov. 9 will kick off at 2:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ABC.
Kiffin provides update on Dr. Luber
Dr. Kurre Luber — the orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist for Ole Miss sports — suffered a medical emergency on the sideline last Saturday. The game was stopped for several minutes as medics responded to the incident. Luber was able to walk off the field under his own power.
Kiffin told reporters Monday that Luber is “doing much better.”
“He’s an integral part of our program, but just a great person in the community and helps so many,” Kiffin said. “So, that’s awesome.”
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