For Lane Kiffin, the sting of a 4-game losing streak to end the 2022 season was never totally going to be wiped away with 1 solid afternoon of spring football in the middle of April.

That’s not the way it works in major college football.

And certainly not in the SEC wars, where scars can only be truly fixed on fall Saturdays, not spring ones.

But Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was as much of a refuge for Kiffin and his revamped roster as it possibly could be on this particular spring Saturday. It didn’t solve all of the Rebels’ issues that they will carry into preseason camp in August, and it certainly won’t erase the bad memories of a 7-0 record gone awry last fall.

Because things are a bit different now in Oxford.

That’s what the burden of higher expectations brings.

It brings pressure, and it brings stress, and it can bring rewards, if you’re able to weather it all and deal with it all.

That’s what Saturday’s Grove Bowl was all about. That’s the purpose that the Rebels’ 3rd and final spring scrimmage served. It was the final step in Kiffin’s program turning the page on that 2022 free-fall and locking in on a 2023 season the Rebels hope is more like the 1st half of last season and less like the 2nd half.

The exact format that Kiffin would employ for the spring game was in question right down to the last few days, but the Rebels settled on having 4 15-minute quarters with a running clock and a normal scoring format featuring Red and Navy teams. The final 4 minutes of each half had a clock stoppage, creating a sprinkling of the normal game flow that’s seen in the fall.

Unlike the fall, there were no kickoffs, and the ball was spotted at the 30-yard line for each possession.

And unlike the fall, there was no weekly SEC measuring stick, no 2nd-half collapse at LSU to fret over, no tight home defeat to Alabama to stew over, and no Egg Bowl loss to cry over.

Those 3 stinging losses, which properly captured the Rebels’ not being ready for prime time last fall, were a thing of the past, even if they shouldn’t be forgotten for a program that is trying so hard to be a year-in, year-out player in an SEC West that is getting more competitive by the year.

Isn’t that why Kiffin didn’t take the Auburn job and returned to Oxford?

So he could see this thing through with the Rebels.

So he could try to take this program where Alabama has long been and where LSU appears to be going.

So he could be on the sidelines for a season where 7-0 didn’t deteriorate into 8-5, like it did last fall.

And, definitely, so he could be on the sideline on a day like Saturday, for a Grove Bowl that featured a long list of transfers that Kiffin admits will likely grow after he knocks on the portal door after the spring period ends.

On Saturday, it wasn’t about Ole Miss’ seemingly endless push for consistency and respectability in the SEC and in the national landscape.

It was merely Red vs. Navy. It was the Rebels vs. the Rebels. The struggle against everyone else gave way to 1 final spring cleaning of the mess that occurred down the stretch of the 2022 season.

A big part of that mess was a defense that allowed 45 points against LSU, 30 against Alabama, 42 against Arkansas and 42 more against Texas Tech in the season-ending Texas Bowl loss. Even in Ole Miss’ only victory over its final 6 games last season, the Rebels allowed 28 points to an offensively challenged Texas A&M team.

All of it led to the hiring of Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who is installing a 4-2-5 defensive structure this season after the Rebels featured 3 defensive linemen last year.

And knowing that his much-maligned defense was dealing with a new system in 2023, Kiffin said throughout the spring that the offense would be well ahead of the defense. Naturally, the Grove Bowl made Kiffin look absolutely prophetic, as the Red Team outlasted the Navy Team, 53-52, on a last-second touchdown and 2-point conversion.

Clearly, Saturday showed that Golding has his work cut out for him after leaving Tuscaloosa for the challenges of Oxford.

And clearly, Saturday showed that the Rebels have a wealth of quarterback talent behind incumbent starter Jaxson Dart, who himself was impressive, going 14 of 26 for 226 yards and a touchdown. Behind Dart lurks Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders, who went 19 of 27 for 265 yards, 4 combined touchdowns and an interception. Sanders also had 72 yards rushing.

Meanwhile, LSU transfer Walker Howard made a ton of big-time throws. He was nearly perfect, going 11 of 13 for 183 yards and 4 total touchdowns.

While all 3 quarterbacks impressed on Saturday, sophomore-to-be star running back Quinshon Judkins raised some eyebrows as a receiver after leading the SEC in rushing last season. Judkins, who only caught 15 passes for 132 yards in 2022, had 4 catches for 44 yards in the Grove Bowl, including a 5-yard touchdown.

Kiffin has reportedly said that he felt he could do more schematically with Judkins following his freshman season, and perhaps Saturday was the beginning of all that, albeit it was only a scrimmage. On the 1st drive of the game, Dart threw slightly behind Judkins, who adjusted and made the catch for 16 yards.

Also noteworthy on offense Saturday was the play of wideout Jordan Watkins, who rarely participated in team drills all spring, wearing a non-contact jersey. In the Grove Bowl though, he was all over the place, catching 6 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Michael Trigg was also electrifying, with 9 catches for 138 yards and a score, making a few of his catches in traffic.

While the Red and Navy offenses shined, Golding’s defenses were a step or 2 slow, just as Kiffin predicted they would be all spring. One bright spot though was John Saunders, a Miami (Ohio) transfer who is transitioning from cornerback to play the nickel role in Golding’s new scheme.

Saunders had his 1st big Ole Miss moment on Saturday, intercepting a deflected pass from Sanders to end an impressive drive.

And that’s really what Saturday was all about in Oxford.

It was about moments, Red and Navy, in front of a friendly springtime crowd.

The late-season horrors of 2022 were washed away, once and for all.

A new set of fierce challenges were laid out, for the rest of the offseason, then for fall camp, and then for the fall.

Kiffin isn’t going anywhere.

He’s got his new, expensive contract.

He’s got his new defensive coordinator, from Bama of all places.

He’s got plenty of transfers already in Oxford, and probably more to come.

And, with all that, he’s got that big burden now, the kind that arrives with a vengeance when you start 7-0 and momentarily burst into the Top 10 of the AP poll, only to fall hard.

Now spring football is over in Oxford, and that endless, arduous climb toward respectability continues.