Kiffin, Rebels burst through ceiling with victory over No. 3 Bulldogs

OXFORD, Miss. — When Lane Kiffin was hired to coach the Rebels five years ago, he was tasked a total makeover of a program in flux. Saturday’s victory over No. 3 Georgia solidified Ole Miss’ arrival as a program in the NIL era ready to compete for a national championship.

Kiffin’s coaching career has been filled with many ups and downs since he received his first head job at Oakland in 2007. Then a 31-year-old was the youngest coach of the NFL modern era but didn’t allow his short tenure define his career. He rebounded with a season at Tennessee and one mildly successful stint at USC before being disgracefully fired despite taking over a program on a strict probation.

Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver Cayden Lee (19) reacts after a first down catch during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

It took 10 years from being the mastermind of Alabama’s offensive makeover but lessons learned from Nick Saban has molded him into one of the top coaches in the sport. The Rebels were the first team outside of Alabama to defeat Georgia in 52 games dating back to 2020.

While the rain poured down, quarterback Jaxson Dart’s play against the Bulldogs likely rebooted his Heisman campaign as he completed 13-of-22 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown. He also tacked on another 49 yards rushing including a 28 yard scamper on second-and-ten with a 12 point lead to drain the clock and hopes of Georgia’s potential auto-bid as a conference champion.

Rebels’ defensive end Princely Umanmielen forced a fumble with Georgia trying to make its way downfield with three minutes to go as it led to a fumble recovery and another Ole Miss possession which sealed the victory.

Ole Miss proved to be just as good as pundits predicted preseason even if the team had its hiccups along the way against Kentucky and LSU. Defensively, Pete Golding’s unit held Georgia to just 245 yards which was the fewest amount of total yards since 2017 against Auburn.

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) hands the ball off to running back Ulysses Bentley IV (24) during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Rebels should be in position for at least its third New Year’s bowl. As a program, Ole Miss had not been bowl eligible since the 2015 season after the Hugh Freeze era while the Matt Luke experiment seemed to be a stop gap to avoid more NCAA sanctions. Fast forward nearly nine seasons and Ole Miss finally blew out its perceived ceiling.

Saturday’s victory catapulted Kiffin’s team into a possible College Football Playoff at-large bid with the Rebels victory over No. 3 Georgia at Vaught Hemingway Stadium. Modern day Ole Miss fans haven’t experienced this type of consistency under a coach since John Vaught roamed the sidelines. Today, it’s the long awaited induction of Kiffin’s program into the upper echelon of not only the SEC but college football.