Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin began his fourth season with the Rebels this year after finishing the 2022 season with an 8-5 overall record and tied for third in the SEC West.
After starting the 2023 season off with a 73-7 win over Mercer and a 37-20 victory against Tulane, Ole Miss followed that up with a 48-23 win against Georgia Tech, a 24-10 loss to Alabama and a 55-49 win over LSU last Saturday. Up next, the Rebels have a meeting with Arkansas on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.
In a matchup against the Rebels last year, the Razorbacks got out to a massive 42-6 lead in the third quarter before allowing Ole Miss to chip away with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to bring the final score to 42-27.
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart started for the Rebels and completed 21 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown. Running back Quinshon Judkins added 214 yards and a touchdown on the ground off of 24 carries.
Here is everything Kiffin had to say in his Monday press conference about Arkansas ahead of Saturday's game in Oxford, which is slated to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and it will be available to watch on the SEC Network:
On Arkansas
Kiffin: This is a very challenging opponent. I know that they've lost a few in a row, but you know, took LSU down to the wire at LSU and have given us a lot of problems. I mean, up 42-7 against us at half last year. So, this is a really big challenge for us to play really well and contain these guys. Saw what they did last year, what they did to us three years ago. So, excited for this challenge before we get into the bye week.
On KJ Jefferson
Kiffin: Growth, I think he gets bigger every year. I mean this guy is so hard to bring down. So challenging to play against and always brings a great game against us also. So, you know, we got to tackle him really well, we got to cover because he makes so many plays on rhythm by scrambling. Has really good vision downfield and very good accuracy.
On using last year's game for motivation
Kiffin: Not really bulletin board, I just use it like — saying it doesn't matter, you know with Arkansas playing against Ole Miss, it doesn't matter what they've done before. Because if I remember right I think the week before they lost to Liberty. Didn't move the ball very well and then they come out against us and look like a top-five team in the country. So, it doesn't matter what's happened before. So I do use that game as evidence that these guys come to play against us.
On the common denominator for Sam Pittman-led teams
Kiffin: Yeah, tough, physical, they've run the ball for the most part really well. They've got their running back back now. So, I'm sure they'll have more success running it maybe than they did earlier in the year. But, to me his team usually plays like how he is. You know, o-line coach mentality and really tough and physical.
