Has Ole Miss' Schedule Prepared Rebels For SEC Play? Lane Kiffin Shares Thoughts

Have Ole Miss' non-conference games prepared the Rebels for the onslaught of an SEC schedule?

Sep 14, 2024; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin looks at the board during the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels will undeniably face an uptick in competition this week as they open conference play at home against the Kentucky Wildcats, but just how prepared is the team for this change?

Head coach Lane Kiffin hopes that his roster is very prepared, not because of the non-conference games they have already played, but because of practices against one another. Ole Miss has outscored its opponents by a combined total of 220-22 in the first four weeks, so Kiffin isn't sold on those games having readied his team for conference foes.

"I'm a realist. I don't think our opponents have really prepared us for SEC play," Kiffin said on Monday. "My hope is that our practice and fall camp have prepared us because we play against really good players on both sides of the ball. Schedule is what it is, and I hope that our practice has because our practices are similar to what we face."

This same vein of thought also has kept Kiffin from making any bold claims about how good his team is just yet. He thinks the Rebels can be very good, but there is still plenty of proving left to do against better competition.

"I think we're going to find out more starting Saturday," Kiffin said. "No disrespect, but statistically, the defenses we've played have struggled this year, so we're going to find out a lot more about that.

"That's why I'm not making big statements about where we're ranked or how good we are on offense or defense. I've said we've got a chance to be really elite and really good, but we're going to have to prove that against bigger and better players."

Ole Miss and Kentucky will square off at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.