Lane Kiffin Highlights Needed Area of Improvement With Ole Miss Football's Offense

The Ole Miss Rebels need to improve in one particular area offensively this week, according to Lane Kiffin.

Oct 26, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin reacts after a flag was thrown during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Ole Miss' offense has struggled at times during SEC play this season, but what area in particular needs cleaning up before the Rebels hit the road to take on Arkansas this weekend?

According to head coach Lane Kiffin, it comes down to run blocking.

Last week against Oklahoma, the Rebels rushed for just 69 yards. The Sooners are also giving up an average just north of 100 yards per game on the ground, so part of that number may have to do with Oklahoma's scheme and talent. But if there's a controllable aspect to a game, expect Kiffin to demand proper execution.

"We've got to run block better, and that's everybody," Kiffin said. "We're not run blocking very well at receiver and tight end right now, which is discouraging because that's something over our years of being here that we've done very well."

Kiffin made sure to give credit where credit was due with Oklahoma's defense, but the Rebels have struggled to find a consistent running game in multiple contests this season, including last week. So the struggle can't just be because the Sooners had a good game plan in Oxford.

To be fair, Ole Miss has also reshuffled some pieces along its offensive line in recent weeks due to injury, but Kiffin believes this is an offense-wide issue.

"They do a good job," Kiffin said. "They stop a lot of people in running, and people who are disappointed in the amount of points we scored, go look at everybody this year playing against them when they're not giving it away on offense.

"That being said, we didn't block very well at tight end and receiver on top of, at times, not doing well up front. That's a really bad combination against a really good run defense."

Ole Miss did win Saturday's game 26-14, but if they want to capture wins over Arkansas and Georgia in the next two weeks, a stronger running game will be needed. The Razorbacks are surrendering around 119 yards per game on the ground, good for 37th in the country.

Ole Miss and Arkansas are scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday in Fayetteville, and the game will be televised on ESPN.