Lane Kiffin admits Ole Miss got fooled on crucial play

Kentucky wound up scoring a touchdown on the drive, and Ole Miss missed a game-tying field goal try as time expired. After the game, Kiffin conceded the fourth-down play was the turning point, and that the Rebels had not seen it coming at all.

“We end up getting them to fourth down and they throw a go route. I have to credit [Mark] Stoops, that’s not anything he’s probably ever done in his life,” Kiffin said. “He got out of his character with three and a half minutes left. I commend him for doing that.”

It’s easy to say Kiffin and the Rebels should have seen this coming, but he is right that Mark Stoops made a bold decision by any standard, especially his. Had it failed, Ole Miss probably would have won the game, and people would have questioned him for trying to be too aggressive when seven yards was the target.

Regardless, it is a damaging loss for Ole Miss, who looked surprisingly tame on offense throughout the contest. One has to wonder if this will throw cold water on some of the Kiffin exit rumors — or perhaps they’ll get even louder.