The University of Mississippi Athletics
Postgame Quotes vs. LSU
9/27/2025 | Football
OLE MISS HEAD COACH LANE KIFFIN
Opening Statement:
"A lot of credit to LSU. That was a very competitive, exciting game to watch, even for people who weren't LSU or Ole Miss fans. Some stars really stepped up today. Their defense was exactly as advertised, loaded with talent and playmakers. I even told Brian Kelly that his team looks like an NFL squad out there. When you face great players, you're going to see great performances. I thought our guys made some really big calls on both sides of the ball, Pete [Golding] and Charlie [Weis Jr.] did a great job, and the players executed when it mattered. I was very pleased with that. At the same time, we had too many penalties and two turnovers, which we'll need to clean up. Statistically, I didn't expect it to be so one-sided; first downs: 28 to 16, total yards: 480 to 254. That tells me a lot of our guys are doing things right. Gaining over 200 yards against LSU's defense is no small feat, given the caliber of their players. I also hope our fans enjoyed the day. We really appreciate them not rushing the field, though, I'm sure the extra security helped. It's special to beat the No. 3 team in the country, but even more meaningful that we acted like we'd been there before. We did what we were supposed to do: win the game. That shows me our program has reached a new level, and I couldn't be happier about it."
On the resilience during the offensive drive following Ole Miss' interception:
"As a coach, it does run together sometimes. But when Kewan [Lacy] had the run to make the first down, then we got another holding penalty, and then it went to third on Kewan's [Lacy] run to the left and ten, and then they moved it back more after the timeout. That was huge, especially when they flipped Deuce [Alexander] over there, that usually isn't where he usually is on that route. I told Trinidad [Chambliss] 'hey, let's go backside to him' and they made the play. It was good. Deuce [Alexander] made a number of plays early, that wasn't hard to figure out. We left their good corner over there, and went to the other corner, and even their freshman came in and made plays. When you have that many great players on defense, you have to find a really good one that's below the other great ones and try to win that matchup. I thought our guys did that today."
On trusting analytics and going for it during the late fourth down:
"There was a lot of thought on that decision. You're looking at a long field goal to go up eight, and if you miss it, you give them the ball back with a chance to win. I even clicked over to Pete Golding and asked him what he thought, and he said, 'Go for it.' He was right. That's just how we play. The analytics said to go for it, and our players made the play. That's the way we seal it, and he finally went down. That is exactly what we needed."
On Trinidad Chambliss' performance:
"He was pretty emotional afterward, and there was a really cool hug in there. He told me he loved me and he was appreciative for the opportunity. It's a really cool story. I like good stories. Here's a short kid from D2 going against the mighty tigers at Ole Miss. It was really cool. For him to go out of bounds, you shouldn't make a play to end it; it was awesome. I hope it's a really cool story for a lot of people."
On beating LSU after losing last year:
"These games feel good when you win them, but another team's loaded with players. He has NFL players all over the place, which you'll see in the draft the next two years coming out of there. But that feels good because you got to do a lot of right coaching and playing to beat them. That's a really good feeling for that game to go the way that it did, and the ball control in the game and the way that we played, really good feeling. And yeah, there's obviously a feeling that's twice now where we screwed two games up a year ago ahead in both Kentucky and LSU, and been able to finish the games this year against the same people."
OLE MISS WR CAYDEN LEE
On how resilient this group was after Ole Miss' turnovers:
"Our number one rule in the program is to protect the ball, and I didn't do that on that particular play. So, I am going to take responsibility for that and try my best to make sure that does not happen again. As it speaks for our team, I just feel like that's our mindset, and that's what it's been since everybody has come in. I came back another year, obviously, but being able to have the next play mentality has been the most important thing. It doesn't matter if you catch a touchdown or drop a pass. Whatever happens, the next play is the only play that matters."
On how he's feeling and how he has seen Trinidad Chambliss grow in these past few weeks:
"I am a little upset right now about the fumble, I'm not going to lie to you. I am kind of thinking about that, but the win is making it a little better. I feel like Trinidad [Chambliss] has just done a really amazing job, from the way he has just handled the offense. The meeting he has had with us personally, just getting us ready for these defenses, has us really dialed in, the film studies, and I feel like that is really showing on the field."
On how it felt for Trinidad Chambliss to trust in him even after the fumble:
"The second that it happened, I went to the sideline and he came to me and he was like, 'Hey man, we are going to keep coming to you.' And the first play I was in, he came to me. And I was like wow that was kind of quick. But he just said that we will always have your back, and he was like I know that you have my back, and that's just our team's mindset."
On how Ole Miss' quarterback is from DII and LSU's is a Heisman hopeful and what this game says about the Rebels:
"Yeah, just take us back to last year. Last year, everybody had all these expectations for us to go super super far, and we didn't end up doing that. And this year, I feel like almost nobody is really talking about us. So, I just feel like all of the talk and stuff, preseason doesn't matter. It just matters your team's mindset and what you're going to do each and every game. So far, we have just had a 1-0 mindset and that's worked out for us."
OLE MISS NB WYDETT WILLIAMS JR.
On the defense today and the turnaround since Arkansas:
"A lot of the things that happened, they were on us. We knew we had to fix things and we wanted to do it right away. We have to execute later on in the season especially really good football teams like we played today. Just continuing to work on the miscues and learn like we did today."
On his interception:
"I was just in the right spot at the right time. Really film and knowing tendencies. Just studying my keys and reading everything what was in front of me."
On being in a game like this after coming from ULM:
"It really hit home for me, being from Louisiana, just beating the home team. I grew up watching them. I'm just trying to live in the moment right now. It's an exciting feeling for sure."
On competing on this stage:
"We dreamed of moments like this as little kids. We took the steps in our life to be where we want to be. We're here right now and it's just thanks to God. To grow each and everyday, to work hard each and everyday and to finally be here I'm just grateful."
OLE MISS QB TRINIDAD CHAMBLISS
On what it's like to win a game like this at this stage:
"Leading Ferris State to a national championship was a really big goal of mine. You know, great accomplishment, and today obviously beating No. 4 LSU, one of our rivals. It's like a dream come true. Great team win. The defense played amazingly. The offensive line gave me a great pocket, and our receivers just made plays. Our running backs, Logan Diggs and Kewan Lacey, just ran it in. It was a great win."
On being resilient after penalties:
"Right, you definitely don't want penalties, penalties are drive killers. But our guys persevered. We just made plays when plays came, and we just needed to execute what the defense was giving us. We made plays."
On the journey he's had thus far:
"It is an amazing accomplishment and I have to thank god for that one. He's been with me the whole time. But yeah it's been amazing. I have to thank Coach Kiffin and just the whole staff here at Ole Miss for giving me the opportunity to come here and showcase my skillset and showcase what I can do with great athletes and an amazing support staff. It's amazing and just a dream come true."
On how big of a difference the game is from DI to DII:
"Honestly, at Ferris State, we have some dogs over there. They can play ball over there. We had a lot of guys transfer up and go DI. Some of the guys still there now could probably potentially play at the DI level. I would say probably just the front line. Defensive line and linebackers, the size, speed, and physicality up front. But the atmosphere definitely is a change. Ferris State probably only has a capacity of 5,000 at its stadium. Definitely different than the Vaught, where it is 65,000. Obviously, other SEC opponents have 100,000 fans and whatnot, but like I say every week, football is just football. The coaches do a great job at preparing me and getting me right for the season."
LSU HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY
Opening Statement:
"The game in itself, disappointed in the loss certainly but there is a game within the game. You start with the first half where our inability to sustain anything on the offensive side of the ball put our defense on the field for over 50 plays. At the end of the day when you put it together for four quarters, we didn't play complementary football which you have to do in this league. You have to be able to compliment your offense and defense and we were out of sync with that. When our offense started to move the ball a little bit, our defense couldn't make a stop. In the first half, we couldn't do anything offensively. We settled for a field goal or in the one instance we threw the pick down in the red zone. We just couldn't get the whole group playing together with the same effectiveness that you need to win games like this. This is not about them not playing hard. They played fast and physical but they gotta know that they need to compliment each other and we can't play this game of we play good defensively for a bit, then play good on offense for a bit and go back and forth. This team has to click on all cylinders and we're not clicking on all cylinders right now. I believe in this team, I love this group and we have really good football players, but we have to compliment each other on a daily basis."
On Garrett Nussmeier's play and his health:
"Garrett [Nussmeier] has to play better. Every player on offense has to play better and we have to be more consistent on defense. There's not one player that you will look at and say that guy is the reason we lost. All the players have to play their best when their best is needed. We weren't really good on third down. We've been a really good third down team this year. We have to be better on third down and that's not just on Garrett [Nussmeier]. We have to get open. We have to get guys in a position where they can make some plays and as you saw, we didn't. We struggled with completing a deep ball and they did very well at defending the deep ball today. Again this is not a Garrett Nussmeier problem, this is an entire football team of guys needing to do their job at a higher level."
On if too much is being asked of the defense:
"We held on for dear life in the first half because we put them on the field for 50 plays. That wasn't the case in the second half. We didn't have our D-Gap security. The ball got outside our defense. We had some untimely penalties and couldn't get off the field on third down. They weren't tired, we just didn't execute at the level that we've been executing at defensively in the second half. We started to move a little bit on offense and didn't have the same rhythm on defense. I think the question is valid for the first half but in the second half we just need to play better."
On Trinidad Chambliss:
"I mean the games in the balance on 3rd-and-14 and we are in cover two and they threw a dig on us. He's a good football player there's no doubt. He makes things happen but we had them in situations on third down and let them out. We let them out when we had them backed up on that drive that we just mentioned with the four penalties. He's a really good player and I don't want to take anything away from him but we did not help in many circumstances."
LSU LB WHIT WEEKS
On the need to play complimentary football:
"That's the name of the game. We have to play better complimentary football if we want to be the team we know we can be."
On the issues on third down:
"Their quarterback made plays. It comes down to that. We were in position to make a play and just didn't execute."
On Trinidad Chambliss:
"The dude is a baller. He's a heck of a football player and he played good tonight."
On the importance of the upcoming bye week:
"It'll be huge and there is nobody that believes in this team more than I do. From the wideouts, running backs, offensive line, I could go over every position group. I believe in these guys more than anybody in the world and it just hasn't clicked for us yet. It is week 5, we lost a game. We've got a long season ahead of us. Seven straight SEC games we have left but it's gonna take everybody now.
LSU QB GARRETT NUSSMEIER
On the frustrating part about tonight's loss:
"We just didn't play well in the first half. We have to be better. Our defense was able to get stops early on and we needed to take advantage and we didn't. That's what coach meant by not playing complimentary football."
On the mentality moving forward:
"We could choose to go down and feel sorry for ourselves and not finish where we want to, or we can choose to come into the bye week and work on fixing the things we need to fix."
On playing better complimentary football:
"I think we have a really strong team. We don't point fingers. Everyone is worried about themselves and how they can get better individually. We'll be better moving forward from this."
