5 stats prove Lane Kiffin will upgrade LSU football's offense

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

LSU football labeled Lane Kiffin as its top head coaching candidate for several reasons, but one of them is what Kiffin brings to the offense.

Kiffin is one of the top offensive minds in the sport. LSU could use that after the Tigers' offense finished the 2025 regular season ranked 90th in SP+. LSU's had some of the best offenses in the country in recent years. Joe Burrow led a historic offense in 2019 and Jayden Daniels led another one in 2023. 2025 was a far cry from those heights.

The Ole Miss offense was dynamic under Kiffin. Kiffin wasn't tied to one identity — he adjusted based on his personnel. Some years, the Ole Miss ground game was prolific. Other times, they'd light it up through the air. Kiffin did this without having top-level talent, too.

Here are five stats that define Kiffin's Ole Miss offense. Tiger fans should be excited.

503.4 yards per game since 2020

Ole Miss averaged 503.4 yards per game in Kiffin's time leading the program. That's a large sample size, covering six seasons and dating back to 2020.

Kiffin made an immediate impact in Oxford, averaging 555.9 yards per game in year one. LSU fans will remember Kiffin's Rebels put up 558 yards of offense in Baton Rouge that year. In 2025, Ole Miss ranks No. 3 in the nation, averaging 498.1 yards per game.

25.3 first downs per game since 2020

When you rack up that many yards, you tend to pick up plenty of first downs. Ole Miss led the nation with an average of 25.3 first downs per game under Kiffin. The Rebels are the only FBS offense to average over 25 first downs per game since 2020.

Kiffin and Ole Miss rank No. 3 in the sport with 25.6 first downs per game in 2025.

9.2 yards per pass since 2020

The Rebels' passing attack was brutally efficient under Kiffin, averaging 9.3 yards per pass since 2020. Kiffin's offense is one of the most explosive passing attacks in the country. LSU needs that after the Tigers' offense struggled to push the ball down the field in 2024 and 2025.

Kiffin averaged over 200 rushing yards per game at Ole Miss

LSU's inability to build a consistent run game in 2024 and 2025 was a key contributor to Brian Kelly's downfall in Baton Rouge. That shouldn't be a problem with Kiffin coming to town. At Ole Miss, Kiffin's offenses averaged 204.4 rushing yards per game.

Kiffin's 2022 ground game was elite — the Rebels averaged 256.6 rushing yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry.

17.4 average SP+ rating since 2020

Few metrics measure the overall strength of a unit better than SP+. Since Kiffin took over Ole Miss, only a select few offenses have a better average SP+. LSU's average offense rating in this span is 11.8, meaning Ole Miss was nearly six points better than LSU despite lesser talent.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: 5 stats prove Lane Kiffin will upgrade LSU football's offense

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos