Why Lane Kiffin Isn't 'Overreacting' to Ole Miss' Loss vs. LSU on Saturday

The Ole Miss Rebels had plenty of opportunities to win Saturday night's game against the LSU Tigers, but they came away empty-handed.

Oct 12, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin takes the field before a game against the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels are now firmly on the outside of the College Football Playoff picture just seven games into the 2024 season, but head coach Lane Kiffin isn't ready to overreact just yet.

The Rebels (5-2, 1-2 SEC) are not mathematically eliminated from the playoff conversation, but reaching that pinnacle would likely mean Ole Miss has to win the rest of its games, and that's no easy task in the Southeastern Conference.

On Sunday night, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin called back to his mindset following his team's loss to Kentucky two weeks ago. There are obviously things that need to be fixed with the Rebels (especially on offense), but he isn't ready to reinvent the wheel, even after another gut-wrenching loss on Saturday.

That's mainly because, even with the offensive struggles, Ole Miss still led the entirety of Saturday's game until LSU's final possession.

"Look at the analytics of the percentage of people that win [at Tiger Stadium] at night and have the lead the whole game," Kiffin said on Sunday. "We screwed up a bunch of stuff offensively in the first half, left points out there on the board and [gave up] three at the end. Tre dropping the long ball, getting hurt, all those things happening, we still are going to win the game.

"So, yeah, I feel even more in this game that we're not going to overreact and change how we run a program or something. That doesn't mean that we're not going to look at some things on offense, which is what we're supposed to do as coaches when a certain area is not producing like we expect them to."

This bye week comes at an interesting time for Ole Miss. On one hand, the Rebels have started SEC play in a very disappointing fashion, and that's difficult to stomach when you're not able to right the ship this coming week.

On the other, Ole Miss has to get healthy and figure some things out on offense if it hopes to salvage the season. There are plenty of weapons on the Rebels offense that can make it one of the most explosive units in the country, but since SEC play began, that has not appeared to be the case on the scoreboard.

The Rebels will have their first chance to get right on Oct. 26 when they play host to the Oklahoma Sooners.