Lane Kiffin sounds alarm before Kentucky showdown Ole Miss must dominate line of scrimmage

Brian Schaible

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Lane Kiffin sounds alarm before Kentucky showdown Ole Miss must dominate line of scrimmage image

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin knows his team faces an early challenge with a road trip to Kentucky.

“This is an extremely well-coached team,” Kiffin said. “Somehow, even including one before we got here, the last four I believe someone said, have gone down to the last play of the game. It’s got to be a record. So, these guys always play really tough, really physical against us and so we’re going to have to have a really good week of practice like we did last week and be prepared to go on the road.”

Defensive back Jaylon Braxton missed the opener, but Kiffin indicated the absence was “a medical situation.” He added, “Hopefully he plays this week and think he’s going to be a really good player here. It’s exciting to have somebody that can cover and has played corner that can play safety too.”

The Wildcats are led by quarterback Zach Calzada, a familiar name from his Texas A&M days. “I don’t take a whole lot from years ago how somebody played,” Kiffin explained. “He’s very talented, seems to be really smart and savvy and he’s won big games. So, we’re going to have to play really well. We’re going to have to rush the passer and stop the run and try to go on the road and get a win.”

Kiffin stressed the importance of preparation with SEC play coming so soon. “Line of scrimmages. You know, we try to do a lot obviously against ourselves. That jump from non-conference to SEC play and us not playing well in the first first time out last year. So hopefully it’ll help us this year.”

As for the wider college football landscape, Kiffin pointed to parity. “Any team can go overpay and get somebody,” he said. “That causes people to really be able to jump from maybe a really poor season…to completely change the roster.”

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Brian Schaible

Brian Schaible is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is an award-winning journalist with over 25 years of experience covering college and professional sports. Brian holds a master’s degree in journalism/public relations from Kent State University.