Kentucky Wildcats put surprisingly glaring stat on the line this weekend as double-digit underdog versus Ole Miss
Despite a few average to bad seasons, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has put the Wildcats on the map with the performances at home at Kroger Field.Since November 1, 2021, there are only three programs who have won multiple times in Kentucky’s backyard. Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Tennessee have all won twice in the last […]
Despite a few average to bad seasons, Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops has put the Wildcats on the map with the performances at home at Kroger Field.
Since November 1, 2021, there are only three programs who have won multiple times in Kentucky’s backyard. Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Tennessee have all won twice in the last four years. Which is wild! Even more wild is Kentucky also only has two wins during this time.
Now, Ole Miss will try to win in Lexington for the second time in as many tries.
The last Ole Miss win at Kroger Field was in 2020 when the Rebels won a thriller in overtime, 42-41. Matt Corral had a doozy of a day, completing 24-of-29 passes for four touchdowns. The final one coming in overtime when he found Elijah Moore in the painted grass and Ole Miss hit an extra point to give Lane Kiffin his first SEC win as the head coach in Oxford.
Fast forward five years and Lane Kiffin is still at Ole Miss and the Rebels are looking for revenge.
If most people were betting on it, the. majority would have guessed Kiffin would be anywhere but Oxford, Miss., right now. Alas, he is 1-0 in his sixth season at Ole Miss and is extra motivated this weekend after Kentucky shocked everyone and virtually eliminated the Rebels from the CFP in September last season – winning a wild one, 20-17.
“Yeah, it was horrible,” Kiffin said. “I mean, it was horrible on all fronts because it was such a bizarre game that, and in football, everything can go different ways, but it was like all these plays. …It’s just so many ways that game could have went our way and so many things went their way.
“It was really hard to deal with because I just didn’t think we played that well, either, and still had the ball ahead later in the game. Then drive down, and then the missed field goal was just, it all sucked.”
Mark Stoops is very aware of how good Austin Simmons is.
He is ready for the Ole Miss offense to come at him with everything it has.
“Ole Miss tries to score every time they touch the ball, no matter who they’re playing. That’s not going to change with Lane, you know what I mean? So it’s your job to stop them.”
Regardless of what each team looks like, the last four contests between Ole Miss and Kentucky have been down-to-the-wire each time. Each of the past four games have been decided by three points or less. And speaking of streaks, Kentucky is just 2-11 versus SEC opponents at Kroger Field dating back to a 2021 win over LSU.
“Not to diminish any of that, but I don’t even think about that,” Stoops said. “It’s what do we have to do this week? I think we all understand that the focus of that the focus is on this week. This game.”
Kiffin obviously isn’t diminishing anything from last season. The Ole Miss head coach seems very motivated for Saturday’s meeting.
”We spent a lot of time in the offseason on these guys and hopefully, that’ll help.”
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Ole Miss is working towards the August 30 opener against Georgia State. And one Rebel seems to be working harder than most as the coaching staff has taken a liking to his effort in fall camp. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding spoke with the media Thursday and highlighted the play of sophomore defensive lineman Kam Franklin. […]
