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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football Practice Report: Week 9
10/23/2024 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 18 Ole Miss football team is eager to get back on the field this weekend to host SEC newcomer Oklahoma for the first time at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Lane Kiffin held his Monday press conference to recap the bye week and look ahead at his squad's next challenge against the Sooners. Jared Ivey, Chris Paul Jr., Reece McIntyre and Cayden Lee also met with the media this week, which can be found below.
"This is a really big game for us, big matchup to have Oklahoma coming in here, who's playing great defense, just changed their offensive staff, looks like changed their quarterback, sounds like getting some receivers healthy. So this is a big challenge for us," Kiffin said. "Excited to be back in front of our home crowd and get back on track."
Good Bye
The bye week came at a good time for the Rebels, who opened the season with seven straight weeks of competition. Now comes a key three-week stretch where they'll host Oklahoma and Georgia with a road trip to Arkansas in the middle before their final bye week.
"I think the time off was good for a number of guys, whether they had been out or just not been full speed," Kiffin said. "JJ Pegues and Henry Parrish both played very hurt the last game or two. I think the timing's good."
Oklahoma's strength has been its defense this season. The Sooner offense ranks No. 128 out of 134 in the nation, and last in the SEC, in total offense at just 288.1 yards per game, prompting them to make a change at offensive coordinator, parting ways with Seth Littrell and elevating former Rebel tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley to playcalling duties.
"I don't think that really matters. He didn't call plays here. He's got a different situation there, he was our tight ends coach here. I don't think him having worked here before will help us at all figuring out what he's going to do," Kiffin said. "And with only a week to call plays, usually add a play here or there but stay with the same system. You can't reinvent a system in six days."
Small Things
The Dec. 12 loss to LSU was a painful one, as Ole Miss could point to numerous moments throughout the game, and any one of them could have tipped the game in its favor. Pooh Paul spoke on how the Rebels digested the loss last week.
"It's just funny how small things in the game can determine an outcome," Paul said. "You never know which play is going to determine the outcome of the game. Once we went back and watched the film and critiqued some minor mistakes like that, it just showed up that small mistakes determined the outcome of that game. We're just going to get ready to bounce back and go out there this week and play a dominant game vs. Oklahoma."
Despite two defeats by razor-thin margins early in the season, Ole Miss isn't focusing on its regrets, rather, the opportunities that still lay ahead.
"Talking to guys and keeping spirits high. Dart has done a good job of that—not letting people drift, staying the course, staying on top of the goal," Paul said. "That's really important from one of the leaders on our team. We have a lot of guys on defense who do that as well. Like today, we went out to practice, communication was high, effort was high, guys were on top of little things out there, so it really showed how much they truly care about this team and its success, so I feel real confident going into this Saturday and the rest of the weeks to come."
One Snap and Clear
Prior to the LSU game, Ole Miss led the SEC and ranked third nationally with 4.0 sacks per game. The Rebels also led the nation with 10.5 tackles for loss per game. So it was certainly a surprise—and a testament to LSU's game plan and offensive line play—that Ole Miss left Baton Rouge with zero sacks and just three tackles for loss.
"We just put the game to bed and moved on to our install from Oklahoma, and the small stuff we needed to focus on going into the bye week that we wanted to get better at," Ivey said. "Obviously games like that hurt, but you have to go one snap and clear and move onto the next game."
LSU effectively has the best pass protection in college football with just two sacks allowed all year. Only Army has fewer with one, but the Black Knights have attempted just 56 passes this season compared to 286 dropbacks for the Tigers. Oklahoma, meanwhile, is second-to-last in the nation with 29 sacks allowed in seven games.
"Those were good players and I feel like Oklahoma has good players too. Each week we are trying to go in with our coaching points and the breakdown of the pass protection and the run schemes. Then just do what the coaches tell us to do. For that, we can run against anybody."
Stay Connected
Stay up to date with all the latest Ole Miss football news and content! Subscribe to The Sip, the official newsletter of Rebel football, and we'll drop the best Ole Miss football stories, videos and social media content to your inbox each week.
Update today to the all-new version of the Ole Miss Sports app, presented by Renasant Bank! The new app will serve as a dynamic hub for Rebel gameday content, including ticketing, parking, schedules, shopping for official Ole Miss merchandise and much more. Click here for more info or to download.
Lane Kiffin held his Monday press conference to recap the bye week and look ahead at his squad's next challenge against the Sooners. Jared Ivey, Chris Paul Jr., Reece McIntyre and Cayden Lee also met with the media this week, which can be found below.
"This is a really big game for us, big matchup to have Oklahoma coming in here, who's playing great defense, just changed their offensive staff, looks like changed their quarterback, sounds like getting some receivers healthy. So this is a big challenge for us," Kiffin said. "Excited to be back in front of our home crowd and get back on track."
Good Bye
The bye week came at a good time for the Rebels, who opened the season with seven straight weeks of competition. Now comes a key three-week stretch where they'll host Oklahoma and Georgia with a road trip to Arkansas in the middle before their final bye week.
"I think the time off was good for a number of guys, whether they had been out or just not been full speed," Kiffin said. "JJ Pegues and Henry Parrish both played very hurt the last game or two. I think the timing's good."
Oklahoma's strength has been its defense this season. The Sooner offense ranks No. 128 out of 134 in the nation, and last in the SEC, in total offense at just 288.1 yards per game, prompting them to make a change at offensive coordinator, parting ways with Seth Littrell and elevating former Rebel tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley to playcalling duties.
"I don't think that really matters. He didn't call plays here. He's got a different situation there, he was our tight ends coach here. I don't think him having worked here before will help us at all figuring out what he's going to do," Kiffin said. "And with only a week to call plays, usually add a play here or there but stay with the same system. You can't reinvent a system in six days."
Small Things
The Dec. 12 loss to LSU was a painful one, as Ole Miss could point to numerous moments throughout the game, and any one of them could have tipped the game in its favor. Pooh Paul spoke on how the Rebels digested the loss last week.
"It's just funny how small things in the game can determine an outcome," Paul said. "You never know which play is going to determine the outcome of the game. Once we went back and watched the film and critiqued some minor mistakes like that, it just showed up that small mistakes determined the outcome of that game. We're just going to get ready to bounce back and go out there this week and play a dominant game vs. Oklahoma."
Despite two defeats by razor-thin margins early in the season, Ole Miss isn't focusing on its regrets, rather, the opportunities that still lay ahead.
"Talking to guys and keeping spirits high. Dart has done a good job of that—not letting people drift, staying the course, staying on top of the goal," Paul said. "That's really important from one of the leaders on our team. We have a lot of guys on defense who do that as well. Like today, we went out to practice, communication was high, effort was high, guys were on top of little things out there, so it really showed how much they truly care about this team and its success, so I feel real confident going into this Saturday and the rest of the weeks to come."
One Snap and Clear
Prior to the LSU game, Ole Miss led the SEC and ranked third nationally with 4.0 sacks per game. The Rebels also led the nation with 10.5 tackles for loss per game. So it was certainly a surprise—and a testament to LSU's game plan and offensive line play—that Ole Miss left Baton Rouge with zero sacks and just three tackles for loss.
"We just put the game to bed and moved on to our install from Oklahoma, and the small stuff we needed to focus on going into the bye week that we wanted to get better at," Ivey said. "Obviously games like that hurt, but you have to go one snap and clear and move onto the next game."
LSU effectively has the best pass protection in college football with just two sacks allowed all year. Only Army has fewer with one, but the Black Knights have attempted just 56 passes this season compared to 286 dropbacks for the Tigers. Oklahoma, meanwhile, is second-to-last in the nation with 29 sacks allowed in seven games.
"Those were good players and I feel like Oklahoma has good players too. Each week we are trying to go in with our coaching points and the breakdown of the pass protection and the run schemes. Then just do what the coaches tell us to do. For that, we can run against anybody."
Stay Connected
Stay up to date with all the latest Ole Miss football news and content! Subscribe to The Sip, the official newsletter of Rebel football, and we'll drop the best Ole Miss football stories, videos and social media content to your inbox each week.
Update today to the all-new version of the Ole Miss Sports app, presented by Renasant Bank! The new app will serve as a dynamic hub for Rebel gameday content, including ticketing, parking, schedules, shopping for official Ole Miss merchandise and much more. Click here for more info or to download.
Players Mentioned
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