How Are Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Football Prepping For Oklahoma's Changes on Offense?

Oklahoma's offense is in flux as it prepares to face the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday.

Oct 19, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold (11) throws during the second half at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels are finally back into game week after an open date, and they are preparing for an unpredictable offense this week in the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma has gone between multiple quarterback options this season (including last week during a loss to South Carolina), so Ole Miss is preparing to see either Jackson Arnold or Michael Hawkins Jr. under center on Saturday. It was also reported on Sunday night that the Sooners had parted ways with offensive coordinator Seth Littrell, opening the door for more unpredictability.

Former Ole Miss staff member Joe Jon Finley will be calling the plays for Oklahoma this week, but Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin doesn't think that will bring much familiarity to the table as his team preps for the Sooners.

"I don't think that really matters," Kiffin said on Monday. "I can understand why you'd think that would mean a lot. He didn't call plays here, and he's got a different situation there. I don't think that him having worked here before would help us at all in figuring out what he's going to do.

"With only a week to call plays, usually people just kind of add a play here or there but stay with the same system. You can't reinvent the system in six days."

It does throw a new variable into the Rebels' game plan for this week, but Kiffin admits that he can't predict the future. He's not sure what Finley might and might not change this week, but he is expecting Oklahoma to have some healthier pieces on offense when it rolls into town.

"There's no way to predict that," Kiffin said. "Usually, they don't change a whole lot when someone's been there and was the co-coordinator already. Even if there is, we can't figure it out. There's no magic formula to figure out what they were thinking."

But what about the potential for two quarterbacks? Hawkins had taken over for Arnold after Oklahoma's poor offensive showing earlier in the year against Tennessee, but Arnold piloted most of the game against South Carolina after a bad start from Hawkins.

In Kiffin's eyes, Ole Miss has to work on itself in preparation for Oklahoma more than anything else.

"I think both guys move around really well," Kiffin said. "Both are big time talents, so we've got to make sure we take care of ourselves and play really well."

The Rebels and Sooners are scheduled to kick off at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday, and the game will be televised on ESPN.

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