Kiffin Looks Toward Kickoff Against Mercer

By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com

No. 22 Ole Miss football has entered game week for the start of the 2023 season as they play host to the Mercer Bears on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Head coach Lane Kiffin met with the media for his weekly Monday press conference.

“Its our first full day of preparing for Mercer,” Kiffin said. “These guys played well Saturday and last year and extremely hard.”

Mercer heads into Oxford, 1-0 after a 17-7 victory over North Alabama in the FCS Kickoff Classic. Last season, the Bears finished the 2022 year with a 7-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the SoCon.

“If you go back two years ago at Alabama how well they played on defense,” Kiffin said. “In that game the problems they gave them. We will have our hands full.

“We are ready to play in the heat and prepare for that,” he said. “What comes through that and we have a lot of work to do.”

The Rebels played in a mock game on Saturday.

“I thought that the mock game went really well — which is not always the case every year,” Kiffin said. “The guys did a great job of making it like a game day with great energy.”

Kiffin added that he really likes where his players are as a team and how they prepare.

Coming into game week, Kiffin has not named a starting quarterback.

“We have not made that final decision,” Kiffin said. “We are very excited about all the guys. As for as the starter it is two people. Both guys did extremely well on Saturday.”

Ole Miss will open the season at home inside the Vaught on Saturday, September 2 at 1 p.m. and can be seen on SEC Network+.