Kirby Smart comments on playing Ole Miss without Lane Kiffin

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The Ole Miss Rebels will be without former head coach Lane Kiffin, who left for the LSU Tigers head coach job, for their Sugar Bowl game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Ole Miss has promoted their defensive coordinator Pete Golding to be their head coach.

The Rebels have several assistants that are working double duty right now and will be joining Kiffin full-time at LSU after the conclusion of Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff run. Most notably, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. will still be calling the plays for Ole Miss like he did in Georgia‘s 43-35 win over Ole Miss in October.

“The offensive coordinator and the staff is still all there,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on facing Ole Miss without Lane Kiffin. “So, they’re not going to make overhaul or make large changes, right? They got something that really works well.”

Smart went on to praise Ole Miss’ offense and thinks that quarterback Trinidad Chambliss “may be playing the best in the country” right now. The Rebels have the No. 10 scoring offense in the country at 37.5 points per game and has the second-best offense in terms of yards per game (498.0). Ole Miss’ personnel hasn’t changed much. If anything, the Rebels have solidified things defensively and haven’t allowed a single opponent to score over 28 points since the Georgia game.

“Lane (Kiffin) has something to do with that because he helped build it and get them there, but Charlie’s (Weis Jr.) done a tremendous job calling the plays and doing those things.”

One big factor in Ole Miss’ success is the Rebels’ balanced offensive attack. Ole Miss has a top-35 rushing offense and a top-five passing offense. In the first meeting, Georgia was able to limit Ole Miss to just 88 rushing yards, but the Rebels did score four rushing touchdowns.

Smart thinks the rematch narrative is “really overrated” and does not matter that much. “I don’t think either team is exactly the same,” Smart said. “Both teams have evolved some, and everybody will have new wrinkles.”

Injuries along with both teams having improved defenses should be the biggest changes from the first Georgia-Ole Miss matchup.

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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Georgia coach Kirby Smart discusses Ole Miss without Lane Kiffin

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