Paperweights: Ole Miss exposed in stunning home loss to Kentucky

No one does less with more than Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin.

On Saturday, the fifth-year Rebels head coach lost a tough SEC home opener against Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 in SEC), 20-17. Ole Miss entered the game as a 15.5-point favorite .

Kicker Caden Davis missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt with 48 seconds remaining that could have potentially sent the game into overtime.

For a team with College Football Playoff aspirations, it's an unacceptable loss. For a team coached by Kiffin, it's exactly what fans should expect.

Over the past four seasons, Ole Miss has beaten up lesser teams while consistently falling short against teams in its weight class.

A season ago, the Rebels lost to Alabama and Georgia by a combined score of 76-27 and went 11-0 in their other games.

In 2022, Ole Miss faded down the stretch after a 7-0 start, ending the season 8-5. The season before that, in 2021, it was outscored by a touchdown per game in its five games against ranked opponents.

Ole Miss entered Week 5 looking like one of the country's best teams. However, its cupcake nonconference schedule made the Rebels appear much better than they are.

Ole Miss (4-1, 0-1 in SEC) was just 1-of-10 on third downs against Kentucky, and the offense stalled after an opening-drive touchdown, gaining only 270 yards over its final 10 series.

The Rebels gained 353 yards, 317.8 yards below their season average entering Saturday.

Ole Miss's promising season could quickly fall apart if it doesn't rebound. In Week 6, it travels to South Carolina (3-1, 1-1 in SEC), which beat Kentucky 31-6 earlier this season. It's followed by a road game against No. 14 LSU (3-1, 1-0 in SEC) and a home date against No. 21 Oklahoma (3-1, 0-1 in SEC).

The tough five-game slate ends with a road game against Arkansas (3-1, 1-0 in SEC) and a showdown against No. 2 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 in SEC) at home.

Before Saturday, Ole Miss appeared primed to make serious noise in the SEC. However, with its loss to Kentucky, Ole Miss is still the same underperforming program it's always been since Kiffin took over.