Containing Lane Kiffin: Why Rebels Present More Than One Challenge For Texas A&M

Lane Kiffin's ground game might be as deadly as his quick-witted tongue

COLLEGE STATION -- You have to wonder if Lane Kiffin enjoys adding insult to injury at this point.

The Ole Miss coach on more than one occasion has been known for his exuberant personality and dry humor when addressing situations. Always willing to speak his mind, Kiffin doesn't hold back when delivering punchlines that feel like below-the-belt punches depending on who you asked.

Kiffin, who currently has the No. 15 Rebels (7-1, 3-1 SEC) on pace for another 10-win season, was asked Monday about facing off against a downtrodden Texas A&M roster. He could have simply said the Aggies (3-4, 1-3) were a team in need and have been on the wrong side of close matchups.

But that's not the Kiffin America loves. He would be ill-fitted to say anything less than what most of the country already knows.

“We’re getting ready to go play probably one of the top five rosters in America,” Kiffin said of Texas A&M.

He's not wrong. On paper, the Aggies have the talent. They're coming off back-to-back top 10 recruiting classes, including finishing with the top unit for the 2022 cycle. At this point, almost the entirety of the roster is made up of players exclusively recruited by fifth-year coach Jimbo Fisher to fit his system.

So far, the production on paper hasn't matched the play on the field. Fisher's Aggies are on a three-game losing streak. Injuries have hampered continuity on the offensive line. Most recently, three highly-touted freshmen were suspended indefinitely after an incident that occurred in the locker room following Saturday's loss to South Carolina.

The rule is to pick someone up when they're down. At least Kiffin in the compliment sandwich gave praise to the Aggie faithful that flock to Kyle Field to watch the madness unfold on Saturdays.

“These guys are ultra-talented,” Kiffin said. “We’re going to play in one of the top five hardest places to play.”

Fisher knows that the Rebels will be coming in hot following a 45-20 road loss to LSU. After kicking off the second quarter down 17-3, the Tigers rallied to go on a 42-3 run to close things out in Death Valley, led by the resurging performance from quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Speaking of run, that's likely how Ole Miss will try to win in front of a packed Kyle Field Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The Rebels not only lead in the SEC in rushing yards (2,015) and yards per game (251.9), but also lead the nation in rushing touchdowns (26).

And it's not just one player handling most of the reps. The Rebels implore a two-back tandem in freshman Quinshon Judkins and junior Zach Evans.

"The key to them — and it always has been this way — is running the ball," Fisher said Monday of Kiffin's offense. "There's not a deep down, it's more RPOs and running, along with the speed of it and timing is one of their big secrets."

Evans is a name A&M fans might remember from the 2020 recruiting cycle. One of the top running backs in the Greater Houston area, the Northshore product considered College Station as a destination before eventually electing to play for TCU.

During his two seasons in Fort Worth, Evans averaged 7.4 yards per attempt and totaled 10 touchdowns before electing to transfer this offseason to Oxford. So far, he's been the No. 2 runner, tallying 605 rushing yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

It's not as if Evans expected to be the de facto sidekick when committing to “The Sip” this offseason, but the arrival of Judkins has allowed Kiffin to tactically implement two different running styles with vastly different runners depending on the defensive formation.

Judkins has benefitted from his role as the team's power back, rushing for 831 yards and 12 touchdowns through eight games. Among SEC runners, he ranks second in total yards and first in rushing touchdowns.

"Both those guys are really good players," Fisher said of the two runners. "That may be as good of a two-back group that we'll face all year. They have a great young guy who's good, and then they have an experienced guy who has played a lot of football."

Players already know the key to stopping Ole Miss starts with eliminating the run. Fisher and Kiffin have only met once after their first matchup was canceled due to COVID-19 during the 2020 season. Last year, Ole Miss trounced A&M on the ground, rushing for 257 yards en route to a 29-19 win at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium.

This season, the Rebels have totaled over 200 rushing yards in five games, including rushing for more than 300 yards on three different occasions.

"They have three good backs and they all rotate," Texas A&M safety Demani Richardson said. "They all can do it all, so I definitely feel like that will be one of our key points."

Kiffin has taken jabs at Jimbo since last season's win in Oxford. In February, he poked the bear by stating how A&M might have to "pay a luxury tax" because of how much money the Aggies were rumored to have raised for NIL deals. Tensions increased when the Rebels coach openly defended Alabama's Nick Saban on Twitter following Fisher and Jackson State coach Deion Sanders' comments on NIL and recruiting.

Fisher said there's still plenty of fight left in A&M's roster. The Aggies have lost by a combined 10 points in the past two games. After Saturday's loss to the Gamecocks, Fisher said the Aggies were close to getting back on track and at least "weren't getting run out of the stadium."

As for Kiffin, he responded in troll Lane fashion.

Said Kiffin: "Like Jimbo said, they were close in the game. It’s not like they got blown out.”

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You can find Cole Thompson on Twitter @MrColeThompson

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