OXFORD – The message for Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s team this week is fairly straightforward: Take the opportunity to improve.
Coming off of a 30-14 win over South Carolina, the No. 7 Rebels (8-1, 5-1 SEC) get a brief reprieve in conference play and host FCS foe The Citadel on Saturday at noon. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+. The teams have met once previously, a 27-7 Ole Miss victory in 2005.
The Rebels, who finish the season with games against Florida and Mississippi State, are likely to find themselves in good position in Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff rankings reveal. But first up is a Bulldogs team coming off an 11-point victory over VMI. Ole Miss has a 99% chance to defeat The Citadel (4-5) this weekend, per ESPN Analytics. But more important than the likely result on the field is cleaning things up.
“We have a big challenge issued this morning to get better this week,” Kiffin said. “I thought we’ve gotten better in some areas the last couple weeks. So, really talked about focusing on ourselves with walkthrough today and then two really physical practices the next two days to improve. We have a lot to work on.
“ … Really trying to focus on getting better and improving and maybe looking at different ideas, too.”
The Rebels held South Carolina to just 230 total yards and sacked Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers six times. It wasn’t all perfect, however, as Kiffin pointed out the 47-yard touchdown throw to a wide-open Nyck Harbor in the third quarter as one of the things that needs to be tidied up. The Rebels’ passing game was also off over the weekend, as senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was just 12 of 21 passing for 159 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 59 yards and a score, part of the Rebels’ 258 total yards on the ground.
Sophomore Kewan Lacy ran for a career-high 167 yards and scored on a 54-yard touchdown run. Lacy, who was lauded for his explosiveness in the offseason, is second in the SEC with 863 rushing yards and is tied for second nationally with 13 rushing touchdowns. But he also has 632 yards after contact and has forced 65 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.
“I think we knew – maybe not to this extent. We knew the speed-size ratio. But also, you can’t predict how guys are going to improve or plateau,” Kiffin said. “And a lot of that is, once they get there, how they work. And he’s phenomenal in preparation. He’s in here all the time, very low ego, which is refreshing at that position. And he just wants to get better, and he’s had a great year. He needs to take care of the ball – the ball was a little loose, almost came out. But he’s doing a great job, and really doing a great job in pass protection being very physical.”
Williams, Franklin earn SEC honors
Ole Miss senior offensive tackle Jayden Williams and sophomore defensive lineman Kam Franklin have been named the SEC’s Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week and Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week, respectively. Williams helped pave the way for a Rebels offense that rushed for 258 yards against South Carolina and did not surrender a sack. Franklin finished with six tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
Florida game time announced
Ole Miss and Florida’s game on Nov. 15 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will kick off at 6 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN.
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