Lane Kiffin addressed the struggles that Ole Miss has faced on 3rd down conversions this season.

In 7 games so far this season, the Rebels are 32-of-89 on third-down conversions (36%) on offense. Kiffin noted at his press conference on Monday that Ole Miss’s downfall on third down “for whatever reason, every other season.”

During the 2021 season, the Rebels converted just 38% (73-of-191) of their 3rd downs. That percentage increased dramatically in the 2022 season to 47% (88-of-187).

“It’s a combination of a lot of things, whether it’s missed blocks or protection,” Kiffin said.

Kiffin is not looking for perfection on 3rd downs from the Rebels, noting that most of their plays are drawn up to convert on fourth down. On 4th down this season, Ole Miss has converted on an impressive 14-of-20 attempts (70%).

“It’s in the way we call plays and stuff, which at this point isn’t a secret anymore,” Kiffin said.

Kiffin noted, however, there’s a simple formula to Ole Miss being successful on 3rd down.

“We didn’t execute and beat man-to-man in certain things,” Kiffin said. “If you don’t beat man-to-man and protect long enough, make accurate throws and put that all together, you’re going to have (3rd-down struggles).”

Ole Miss (6-1), currently on a 3-game win streak, hosts Vanderbilt this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on SEC Network.