Ole Miss At Early Crossroads As Lane Kiffin Takes Rebels To South Carolina For Pressure-Filled Matchup

The Kentucky loss could end up stinging for a while at Ole Miss, if the Rebels don’t find a way to regroup this weekend at South Carolina, and I'm not just talking about the rest of this season. 

There is obviously frustration in Oxford following the loss on Saturday, enough to make folks wonder if this team is capable of making the college football playoff. I don’t think that is some type of controversial fact, folks are wondering what the heck went wrong, and how can we retrieve the momentum that was lost. 

The honest take of this 2024 season is that Saturday's game against South Carolina in Columbia will dictate how the esof this year goes for Lane Kiffin and the Rebels. Sure, if the Rebels were to lose to the Gamecocks, they could find a way to win out and still be in contention for a playoff berth once the regular season ends. 

But will anyone in Oxford buy that if the Rebels drop their second-straight game to what folks will label inferior opponents? Absolutely not. This was the season that Ole Miss was going to put their stamp on the SEC, even if that meant not playing in the conference championship game. 

Sep 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) runs the ball as Kentucky Wildcats defensive linemen Deone Walker (0) pursues during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

This was the year that Georgia was going to have to worry about that trip to Oxford. This was the year that the LSU game was going to play a major factor in their ride to the postseason. 

By the way, all of this is still attainable, so don’t go thinking that I'm calling this some doomsday scenario for Ole Miss right now. But the Kentucky loss could linger for a while, and cause further problems down the road if they don’t erase that loss from their minds. 

Oh, and please spare me the conversation about Jaxson Dart holding a meeting on Sunday to rally the offense. There's nothing more overboard than talking about a team meeting to get things back in order. These guys meet every Sunday, they’re around eachother all the time, so one meeting with the offense is not going to set the tone for the remainder of the season. 

Ole Miss Cannot Let The Pressure Force Them Into Another Loss

This comes down to Ole Miss not getting caught-up in the pressure that is currently weighing on them, as the trip to South Carolina gets closer. If they walk into Columbia feeling the pressure of a must-win game, that will force some players to make hasty decisions, and that's not what Lane Kiffin needs right now. 

Obviously, the outside noise can be heard inside the football building, whether that's social media or other folks on campus in Oxford. You can't run from it, so you have to embrace it. But this is what makes this opportunity so unique for Ole Miss. 

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Shane Beamer of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts as time runs off the clock in the fourth quarter of the Duke's Mayo Bowl against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Bank of America Stadium on December 30, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

If you go to South Carolina and win, no matter how it looks, and then head to Baton Rouge with a restored confidence, anything can happen, along with your hopes of making the playoffs still fully intact. 

I want to repeat this for the folks that might've missed it. The season is not over because of one unfortunate performance against Kentucky. Mark Stoops led his team into Oxford and left with a win, and if the Rebels let that affect their mindset this week, they will lose to South Carolina. 

I promise you, the Gamecocks are good enough to send Ole Miss into a temporary tailspin that will cause folks to send the Rebels down the polls, and force them to hang on for dear life. 

Most Important Game Of Lane Kiffin's Tenure At Ole Miss So Far?

But I'd be lying to you if I didn’t confirm the obvious that this weekend's game is the most important contest of Kiffin's tenure. This football team, who went all-in this season through the transfer portal and put together a championship-caliber roster, has to leave Columbia with a victory. 

If not, that means you will most likely have to run the table, with games against LSU, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi State still remaining. Because it's not about the talent on the roster, it's about the mindset of a football team that was built for the playoffs. 

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - SEPTEMBER 28: head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels  during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 28, 2024 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)

And by the way, Shane Beamer lives for these types of moments, to put another team on the brink of elimination. Remember what his team did two years ago to Tennessee and Clemson? The Gamecocks are prepared to pop the Ole Miss balloon on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET. 

For the sake of the 2024 season, and the future of Ole Miss football, the Rebels had better bring a killer mindset to South Carolina, or these two weeks will be a defining moment for this team. 

And I don't mean that in a good way. The pressure is on Lane Kiffin and his Rebels to deliver on Saturday, or it's going to get a lot noisier in Oxford, and some of that noise might be coming from Gainesville.