by Kyle Golik It seems that when great expectations surround Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin , his teams somehow always disappoint in some fashion. While at Southern California, Kiffin found ways to win despite the sanctions levied against the Trojans. Although Kiffin said his Trojans shouldn’t have been ranked No.
1 in the 2012 preseason, no one expected them to finish 7-6. At Ole Miss, Kiffin has followed a similar pattern of exceeding early expectations, such as the 2021 team becoming the first in program history to win 10 regular-season games and last year’s team winning 11 games and the Peach Bowl. How Kiffin has mastered recruiting and the portal, it seemed 2024 would be a season Ole Miss would realize their full potential under him.
While most of Ole Miss' goals—like an SEC Championship and a College Football Playoff berth—are still attainable, the head-scratching 20-17 loss to an unranked Kentucky team as the No. 6 ranked team raises concerns..
"I'm not going to overreact in loss, just like I don't overreact in a tight win," Kiffin said with calmness following the Kentucky loss. "You can't let people hang around, especially in this conference." © Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports Kiffin then dropped this quip that might be just as big a head scratcher, "I'm a realist.
I don't think our opponents have prepared us for SEC play," Kiffin said . "My hope is that our practice and our fall camp has prepared us." The opponents Ole Miss had were Furman, Georgia Southern, .