Master class chess matches: Lane Kiffin vs Kirby Smart
Lane Kiffin didn't exactly light up the scoreboard, but he applied constant pressure on the might Georgia defense in Ole Miss' commanding 28-10 win over the Dawgs.
College football was treated to a pretty great battle last Saturday in the Georgia at Ole Miss game.
Both teams really needed a win for the playoff hunt. Ole Miss already ate a pair of losses against Kentucky and LSU (how did you lose to Kentucky) and have been playing with some urgency ever since. Georgia was ranked no. 2 in the nation but had the loss to Alabama so they could scarcely afford another. Ole Miss was playing to stay alive in the playoff hunt and Georgia was playing to stay alive in the SEC Championship picture in hopes of getting a first round bye and some extra time to figure out offense.
The outcome of this one wasn’t too close. The Rebels won 28-10, essentially pulling away a little in the 2nd quarter and never allowing the Bulldogs to get back in the game. A big reason for this was the play of their offense which had the following possessions:
Drive 1: Three plays, interception
Drive 2: 10 plays, 75 yards, touchdown
Drive 3: Six plays, 44 yards, field goal
Drive 4: Nine plays, 51 yards, field goal
Drive 5: 10 plays, 63 yards, field goal
Drive 6: Three plays, one yard, halftime
Drive 7: Eight plays, 75 yards, touchdown
Drive 8: Five plays, 19 yards, punt to the Georgia 9-yard line
Drive 9: 10 plays, 68 yards, field goal
Then a pair of possessions obtained after Georgia late game failures. The Dawgs never had field position, aside from the easy touchdown gifted by the touchdown on Ole Miss’ third play, and almost every time they got the ball back the deficit was bigger if only marginally so.
The red zone offense wasn’t great, but the constant scoring and effective possession of the ball helped strangle the Dawg offense. Here’s how Lane Kiffin pulled it off against the Kirby Smart defense.