"We should have finished it": Lane Kiffin displeased at Rebels' inability to secure win against LSU

Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels failed to secure a win against the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge on Saturday. Despite being the dominant team for most of the Southeastern Conference game, the Rebels lost with a 29-26 scoreline in overtime.

Ole Miss blew several opportunities which eventually cost them. The Rebels held the lead until the final play of overtime but were undone by key mistakes. In his postgame press conference, a displeased Lane Kiffin felt the team should have won on Saturday.

“We should have finished it when we had the ball up for a chance to go down and make it two scores,” Kiffin said. “Similar to the Kentucky game, they didn't do that and we put ourselves in a much harder situation. I'm just really disappointed, obviously. We should win that game.”

“We commanded a majority of the game, but credit to them for making plays late in the fourth quarter and in overtime. I told our guys, 'We've got to make plays, and we've got to coach better.'"

A dropped touchdown pass, a failed fourth-down conversion inside the five-yard line and a missed 32-yard field goal could have helped Ole Miss win the game. However, these critical errors proved costly in their narrow defeat.

Lane Kiffin believes Ole Miss could have been undefeated

The Saturday night loss in Baton Rouge marks Ole Miss’ second of the season. The Rebels recorded their first loss against Kentucky in Week 5. Considering the circumstances around both defeats, Lane Kiffin believes his team had a good chance of remaining unbeaten.

“It's tough because we handed two games away,” Kiffin said. “I'm not trying to say that when you lose, you hand them away, but in both games, we have the ball, and we're ahead. We're ahead with the ball to go up two scores, and in both losses, we found a way to lose.”

"We could very easily be undefeated, so that's tough to handle. We're still a really good team. One stop, one ball, or one pass interference call, and you're sitting here saying, 'What a great team to find a way to win in Baton Rouge.' I'm not going to overreact."

With a 5-2 overall record and 1-2 in conference play, Ole Miss' playoff chances are in jeopardy. The Rebels were widely projected to make the playoffs during the offseason. However, they find themselves in a difficult situation with five games to go.

Ole Miss has a bye in Week 8 and Kiffin will hope for an improved performance when they resume action in Week 9. The Rebels have Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida and Mississippi State on the schedule for the rest of the regular season.