Lane Kiffin Reveals Why 'Tough' Bye Week Came at a Good Time for Ole Miss Football

Injuries aside, the Ole Miss Rebels may have needed last week's open date for a variety of reasons.

Oct 5, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin calls timeout against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

It's no secret that the No. 18 Ole Miss Rebels were banged up physically after their overtime loss to LSU on Oct. 12, but the mental toll had also become rather high.

For a team that had aspirations of reaching the College Football Playoff in December, Ole Miss did not open SEC play in a very dominant fashion. Sure, there was a convincing road win over South Carolina, but straddling that result were some late, heartbreaking losses to Kentucky and LSU.

Recovering physically during last week's open date was obviously a plus for the Rebels as they prepare to host Oklahoma this weekend, but just as critical was the mental rest after a difficult overtime conclusion against the Tigers in Baton Rouge.

"I think it was really tough initially because it's one thing if you go into a game and you feel like the team wasn't ready or has personnel issues all over the place," head coach Lane Kiffin said on Monday. "There's a game we went in, took the lead, thought guys responded well in historically an extremely hard place [to play]. We let it get away at the end. That took a while."

Kiffin's team is definitely on the outside-looking-in in regards to the current CFP picture, but all hope isn't lost. There are some difficult games remaining on Ole Miss' schedule, but if the Rebels win out, they could find themselves in the field after all.

That's especially the case in what has been an unpredictable college football season across the country so far.

"Watching stuff this weekend for the first time, everybody's got problems," Kiffin said. "Doesn't seem like there's any perfect teams."

In order to win out, however, you have to win the first game, and that comes this weekend against Oklahoma. Various Ole Miss players have stated this week that the team appears to be motivated and focused heading into Saturday, and a large part of that mindset boils down to work done during the bye week.

"I think it was good from the mental part," Kiffin said. "A lot going on with the two losses that we so easily could have won. We're over halfway through the season and have only trailed for two-and-a-half minutes of all games combined. That part was a lot to deal with. I think it was good for everybody to get a little break."

Ole Miss and Oklahoma are scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. The game will be televised on ESPN.

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