OXFORD – Last season’s SEC opener stuck with Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.
The then-No. 6 Rebels hosted Kentucky following a non-conference slate where they outscored opponents 220-22. But Sept. 28, 2024 did not offer such ease, as Ole Miss scored a touchdown on its opening drive but was shut out until late in the third quarter, on Tre Harris’ go-ahead 48-yard touchdown reception.
At their own 20-yard line with just over four minutes to play in regulation, Kentucky converted a 63-yard pass to Barrion Brown on fourth-and-7 to drive deep into Ole Miss territory. The Wildcats fumbled at the Rebels’ 2-yard line but recovered the ball and broke the plane for the eventual winning touchdown.
Jaxson Dart completed his own miracle on fourth down on the ensuing drive, a 42-yard heave to Caden Prieskorn that got the Rebels near field goal territory. Caden Davis missed a game-tying 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving Kentucky its lone SEC win of the season as two-touchdown underdogs.
No. 21 Ole Miss gets a chance at redemption Saturday in Lexington, Kentucky against the Wildcats. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ABC. It’s the first SEC game of the 2025 season.
“Just so many ways that game could have went our way, and so many things went their way,” Kiffin said during a teleconference Sunday night. “It was really hard to deal with, because just didn’t think we played that well either and still had the ball ahead and later in the game … and then drive down and then the missed field goal, it just all sucked. And 11 a.m., that’s the worst, because then … game’s over and it’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Can’t go to sleep yet.”
The Rebels began their 2025 campaign with a dominant 63-7 win over Georgia State, a game that featured 18 combined new starters. Redshirt sophomore Austin Simmons threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start, and the Rebels’ defense held the Panthers to 260 total yards. Senior defensive tackle Zxavian Harris was named the SEC Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week after notching five total tackles, including 1.5 for loss, a sack and an interception.
Kentucky opened its season with a 24-16 win over Toledo. Wildcats quarterback Zach Calzada has previously played against Ole Miss when he was the starter at Texas A&M in 2021, when he threw for 237 yards and two interceptions in a Rebels win. He went 10 for 23 for 85 yards and an interception against the Rockets in Kentucky’s season opener.
“I think people change within systems, for the good, for the bad, especially at that position. So, I don’t take a whole lot from years ago, how somebody played,” Kiffin said at his press conference Monday. “ … He’s very talented, seems to be really smart and savvy, and he’s won big games. So, we’re going to have to play really well. We’re going to have to rush the passer and stop the run and try to go on the road and get a win.”
The Ole Miss-Kentucky Week 2 matchup is the earliest the Rebels will start SEC play in a full season since playing Arkansas in the second week of 2019. The biggest difference in starting a season with all non-conference games versus having early SEC games is in the trenches, Kiffin explained.
“Line of scrimmages,” Kiffin said. “We try to do a lot, obviously, against ourselves and look back to last year, trying to do more this year because of that, that jump from non-conference to SEC play and us not playing well in the first time out last year. So, hopefully it will help us this year.”
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