'We Want The Game To Be On Us': Ole Miss Defensive End Tavius Robinson on Second Half Mentality

The Ole Miss Rebels are not afraid of big moments, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

OXFORD, Miss., -- The No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels made a statement in their 22-19 upset victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, if the offense cannot close out the game, the defense is certainly up to the task.

The Ole Miss offense was churning in the first half scoring 19 points but only managed one field goal after halftime. It was on the Landshark defense to close the game against a Kentucky team that was refusing to quit. 

Ole Miss defensive end Tavius Robinson recovered the loose ball forced by his teammate, Jared Ivey, which sealed the game for the Rebels, and spoke with the media on Tuesday about the big play. 

"I remember I was working on the opposite side of Jared [Ivey]," Robinson told reporters. "I saw him get the ball, I saw the ball on the ground and for a split second, all I saw was green in front of me and I thought I could take it to the [endzone]. But that was the game, and I just fell on the ball."

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin had to put his trust in his defense to finish the game when his offense could not. Robinson mentioned that the defense is not afraid to put the game on its shoulders when the offense stalls.

"We want the game to be on us and we want to finish the game on defense," Robinson said. "We have this saying called 'give us an inch' so in any situation, all we need is an inch and we're going to do everything we can to stop them."

Robinson discussed how his game has improved since last fall.

"The longer I'm here the more the game slows down for me," Robinson said. "Coach [Randall] Joyner, coach [Lane] Kiffin, and coach [Chris] Partridge do a great job at teaching us stuff. I've been learning more and more every day so I think that's been a big part of improving my game."

Ole Miss travels to Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 3 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

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You can follow Ben King on Twitter at @BKing_2023.

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