Lane Kiffin inexplicably goes for it on 4th down deep in own territory vs. Oklahoma
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Lane Kiffin has a lot on his mind right now, with those Florida rumors running rampant about his interest in the Gators’ head coaching vacancy.
But Lane Kiffin also has his own team to worry about, and the Ole Miss head coach made a really, well, questionable decision during the 3rd quarter of Saturday afternoon’s game at Oklahoma. The word “questionable” might be putting it lightly, because the 8th-ranked Rebels had the 13th-ranked Sooners right where they wanted them and suddenly gave them life with Kiffin’s “questionable” call.
Ole Miss had the ball at its own 25-yard line early in the 3rd quarter, holding a 22-10 lead and in pretty good position in Norman. It was 4th-and-1 and conventional wisdom called for the Rebels to punt the football and play defense. But Kiffin inexplicably decided to go for it, because maybe he figured his team needed just 1 yard and they had a nice lead.
But not only was it a weird call to go for it in the first place, Kiffin compounded the decision with a very weird play call. It was a direct snap to the running back that sailed over his head. The crazy turn of events flipped the field for Oklahoma, which took over at the Ole Miss 15-yard line.
Fortunately for the Rebels and for Kiffin in particular, the Sooners didn’t make them pay with a touchdown, instead settling for a field goal that made it 22-13.
Ole Miss still had that 2-score cushion, but if the Rebels end up losing the game by a few points, the critics will wonder exactly why Kiffin decided to do what he did.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
