Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin talks with quarterback Matt Corral. John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Ole Miss surprisingly had to grind out a win on Saturday against the worst team in the SEC, and Lane Kiffin was not pleased with the performance. Neither was Rebels quarterback Matt Corral, which made the head coach’s job a lot easier after the game.

After Ole Miss hung on to beat Vanderbilt 31-17, Kiffin told reporters that he wanted to light into his 12th-ranked team. He decided against it, figuring he does it “too much” and that his message might have been lost. Kiffin says he found out that Corral had already unloaded on his teammates.

Ole Miss was never in real danger of losing, but they certainly didn’t play to their potential. They took a 24-9 lead into halftime and scored just seven points the rest of the way.

Corral made a big announcement prior to Saturday’s game. It’s unlikely that had anything to do with the lackluster performance. In reality, the Rebels just played down to their competition. They can’t do that next week on the road against Mississippi State. Corral and Kiffin both know that.

More must-reads:

TODAY'S BEST
WNBA to investigate $100,000 sponsorship deals for Aces players
Tiger Woods blames one big factor for missing the cut at PGA Championship
Giants All-Star pitcher suffers setback in recovery from injury
Watch: Juan Soto's first multi-homer game as a Yankee
'Ain't good enough': Draymond Green claims Celtics must 'win it all' or it's a 'failure'
Blue Jays GM wants struggling club to feel 'massive sense of urgency'
Raptors expected to flip former NBA champion during the offseason
MLB insider reveals Mets' massive extension offer that Pete Alonso turned down
Celtics legend provides update after gruesome finger injury
Bulls hire former NBA head coach as top assistant
Chiefs move on from young running back
20-year MLB veteran working out, unsure about playing future
USA Hockey names HC for 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Olympics
Key Knicks forward ruled out for Game 7 vs. Pacers
Pacers' Pascal Siakam leads team to Game 6 win vs. Knicks
Watch: Matt Duchene's 2OT winner sends Stars to conference final
Scottie Scheffler shoots improbable 66 after warming up for PGA Championship in a jail cell
Report: Tua Tagovailoa away from Dolphins amid contract chatter
Nuggets star has worrying comment about latest injury
Paul Skenes makes incredible Wrigley Field history in second-career MLB start