Lane Kiffin Has High Praise For Kentucky's 'NFL Defense'

The Ole Miss Rebels face a stiff test this week against the defense of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Sep 21, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin reacts during the second half against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels have emerged from non-conference play undefeated while outscoring opponents by a combined total of 220-22, but the level of competition ramps up this week in the SEC opener against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Both the Rebels' offense and defense have been clicking against lesser opponents, but head coach Lane Kiffin isn't making any bold claims about how good his team is just yet. He thinks they can be really good, but there is still a lot of proving left to do.

"I think we're going to find out more starting Saturday," Kiffin said in media availability on Monday. "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."

It's clear that Kiffin thinks that some of those "bigger and better players" will line up against his team this week. Near the opening of his remarks on Monday, Kiffin stated that Kentucky's defense is a challenging one to face, comparing their schemes and size to the NFL.

That recently translated to Kentucky dropping a 13-12 defensive slugfest at home to the top-five Georgia Bulldogs.

"They have really good length on defense, great size," Kiffin said. "I think that it's happened to us and a lot of people: when you don't have size and length on defense, you struggle over the last few years with Georgia or Alabama before that.

"They very much look like an NFL defense from structure and a size standpoint and coverages and techniques. That's why a lot of people struggle against them and games seem a lot more like NFL games. It's hard to make yards and hard to run the ball."

So far this season, Kentucky has picked up wins over Southern Miss and Ohio, but it sits at 0-2 in SEC play thanks to the aforementioned loss to Georgia and a loss to South Carolina.

Ole Miss' offense has put up tremendous numbers through four weeks, but it has not faced a defense like Kentucky's yet, and that's where the proverbial rubber will meet the road in regards to meeting the season's expectations.

Kickoff on Saturday between Ole Miss and Kentucky is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ABC.