Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss Preparing For 'Very Challenging' Test From Arkansas
OXFORD, Miss. -- In the Southeastern Conference, you can't rest on your laurels. That is especially true for the No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels this week.
Ole Miss is flying high after a thrilling 55-49 win over rival LSU last weekend, and although the Rebels have been the talk of the college football world since Saturday night, there is no time to get complacent with the Arkansas Razorbacks coming to town this week.
"This is a very challenging opponent," Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin said on Monday. "I know that they've lost a few in a row, but took LSU down to the wire, and they've given us a lot of problems. This is a really big challenge for us to play really well."
Last week, Kiffin played the "moral support" role for his team after a disappointing road loss at Alabama. This week, he's working to make sure that the Rebels don't become overly-confident after a game that was riddled with issues, even if it was a win.
"I'm sure for two days they heard how great they were outside of here," Kiffin said, "so I made sure they saw we made a lot of mistakes in that game in all three phases. Way too many penalties. That can't happen. We have a lot to work on.
"I think that we didn't play well in a lot of areas--special teams penalties, defensive disaster--allows us to really make sure that we have a lot of work to do. The good part is that we didn't play great as a team, so I think we got a lot of attention this morning on the tape."
Ole Miss (4-1, 1-1 SEC) and Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC) have a history of wild matchups on the gridiron. Last year's meeting, although later in the season, was similar to this year--the Razorbacks are coming in on a losing streak. Prior to meeting (and demolishing) the Rebels a season ago, Arkansas had dropped back-to-back games to Liberty and LSU.
This year, after losses to BYU, LSU and Texas A&M, the Hogs find themselves in a precarious situation. A loss to Ole Miss could mean five straight losses for Sam Pittman's team with a game against Alabama on the horizon.
With series history and this "back-against-the-wall" mentality in mind, Saturday's game is by no means guaranteed to go the Rebels' way, even if they are currently favored by 11 points.
"It doesn't matter with Arkansas playing against Ole Miss what they've done before," Kiffin said. "If I remember right, the week before us, they lost to Liberty and didn't move the ball very well. Then, they come out with us and look like a top-five team in the country. I did use that game as evidence how these guys come to play against us."
Arkansas actually lost to LSU between playing Liberty and Ole Miss last season, but you get the point. This program and quarterback KJ Jefferson (a Mississippi native) always meet the Rebels at full-force.
After struggling against a mobile quarterback and a talented offense on Saturday, what can Ole Miss do to right the ship before Arkansas rolls into town? Simple: replicate the formula used on the previously-lackluster offense.
"That's what we did this morning," Kiffin said. "Offense didn't play very well two weeks ago, had a really good week of practice, and played a lot better. Just did the same thing for the defense today."
Ole Miss and Arkansas are scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
