Lane Kiffin said what every Ole Miss fan feels, but doesn't change Rebels' tough road to College Football Playoff

Now that the dust has settled, looking back on the Ole Miss loss to LSU one thing is abundantly clear. Ole Miss should have won that game. The Rebels led in total yards, overall yards per play, third down efficiency, and they controlled the ball for the majority of the game. Lane Kiffin shared his thoughts on the rivalry loss in his press conference and perfectly capturing how Ole Miss fans likely feel:

"We commanded the game, the majority of the game. We were ahead until the last 30 seconds. My opinion, [LSU had] an electric atmosphere, great crowd, but [the crowd doesn't] block. They don't tackle. They don't drop the ball. They don't miss kicks. So, we've got to make the plays. I've got to coach better. We should have won that game. They're a good team. We're a good team. But we should have won that game."

Kiffin went on to talk through how the team missed the field goal kick early, failed to convert a fourth and very short after that, the easy field goal the team handed to LSU following the Henry Parrish Jr. fumble, and more. There were simply too many mistakes that handed LSU the game despite Ole Miss clearly being the far superior team by almost every meaningful measure.

However, one area where Ole Miss did lose to LSU consistently throughout the game was in pass protection (on both sides). If fans felt that Jaxson Dart was sacked a lot it's because he was. Dart went down six times on sacks against LSU, bringing his total in three SEC games this season to 11.

Those sacks continue to add up for Ole Miss at critical moments. If the Rebels can't get that cleaned up then Ole Miss is going to struggle all year long against tougher SEC opponents in their striving towards a bid to the 12-Team College Football Playoff. And on the other side of the ball, they failed to sack Garrett Nussmeier even one time. Pass rush had been a strength all year for the Rebels as they led the nation in pressures and sacks coming into last weekend, but it struggled against LSU.

Yes, Ole Miss still should have won. They dominated most every single facet of the game for 59 and a half minutes. But Lane Kiffin summed it up well. "Ole Miss should have won that game", and the Rebels absolutely have to find a way to win matchups like that moving forward. Otherwise they're not going to make the College Football Playoff in what should be a banner year for the program.

Be looking for more Ole Miss Rebels coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!