Lane Kiffin Says Ole Miss Planned for Georgia Game Since 35-Point Loss in 2023

Lane Kiffin has had Georgia on his mind since last year's 52-17 loss.

The Ole Miss head coach said that since that blowout defeat, he and his staff have gone about things differently while figuring out how to get over the hump of taking down one of the best teams in the SEC.

"A year ago we lost to these guys by like 30," Kiffin told ESPN's Molly McGrath after Saturday's 28-10 upset win (h/t The Athletic's Stewart Mandel). "We made a decision, we've got to recruit differently. We've got to go shopping. We planned for this game for a year, game-planned all offseason."

Since taking over as the Rebels head coach in 2020, Kiffin has had plenty of success with a pair of 10-plus-win seasons, including last year when they won the Peach Bowl. While racking up wins is nice, Kiffin hadn't taken down the SEC's best until Saturday.

Even last year when Ole Miss had one of its best seasons in program history, its championship hopes were soiled by losses to Alabama and Georgia. Now Kiffin has a coveted win over the Bulldogs, which could help the Rebs get to the championship level.

It hasn't been a perfect season for Ole Miss—it came into Saturday's matchup with an upset loss to Kentucky and a loss to LSU—but a dominant win over the No. 3 team in the country puts the Rebels right back in the College Football Playoff picture.

The loss to the Wildcats is certainly a stain on Ole Miss' resume, but the win over Georgia could cancel it out. After Saturday's win, it should be a relatively easy finish to the season for the Rebels. They'll face Florida next week before closing out the year in the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.

If Ole Miss can win its final two games of the year, it will hope for some luck elsewhere around the SEC and grace from the College Football Playoff committee.