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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lane Kiffin Sugar Bowl Press Conference
12/27/2021 | Football
Ole Miss football head coach Lane Kiffin met with the media Monday to kick off the Allstate Sugar Bowl media slate. A transcript can be found below.
Opening Statement…
"Well, we're excited to be here at the Sugar Bowl; obviously, an amazing tradition. For us to be in there in our second year, just a phenomenal job by our players and assistant coaches. Playing a great opponent. I know Coach [Dave] Aranda well—not from working with him, but from going against him at a number of places. I remember being at one of the places and there was a stat of the previous five years of where he had been, they had the best average per run allowed in the country combined over the five years. So they've always played great wherever he's been and you can see how hard they play, and give people a lot of problems. So it's an exciting match-up. Obviously COVID is still around and has been an issue that we are dealing with. We pushed back as far as we could from going down there, for as long as we could, just from getting out of our protocols here, which are easier to follow. So we'll be there eventually."
On adjusting the bowl week schedule…
"Yes, we just got back last night. So we practiced this morning. That would have been no different. We came back the same time as if we were going to New Orleans. So we would have been in New Orleans last night, practicing there this morning, just like we did. So none of the prep part has changed. We're just doing our stuff here instead of there. These players, outside of transfers, none of them have been to a bowl game, besides last year at the Outback, which was similar to this because of COVID, where we went close to the game, as opposed to a normal bowl week."
On having no opt-outs for the bowl game…
"I think it's awesome. We didn't have a conversation. It's not like someone came in wavering and we had to talk them out of it, or go over the pros and cons. I think it says a lot about this team. It shows the culture that's been created here and the improvement from year one to two year, also, when you look at that. It takes a while for your culture to set in. So that was really cool to see, to not have to deal with that."
On delaying the trip down to New Orleans…
"Ideally from a COVID standpoint, we would come in like a road game, the night before. Why are you going to go somewhere early, have your kids walking around a different city, around different people? Picture a week of walking around Bourbon Street and everything, I don't think that's really up there high on COVID protocol. So we stayed as long as they would let us, actually, because of that. It's easier to monitor kids, have them here where they are used to. There's not a lot of stuff around here with school being out, also, so there's not a lot of places for them to go and things. We really were already scheduled to leave and literally as people were leaving here before the break is when they came out allowing us not to have to go as scheduled for teams. We were already going. Had that been a day or two earlier, we may have changed even the Christmas part, and not let these kids go home for Christmas, like I think Michigan did. I know it's not ideal for them, but do you want to do that, or do you want to go have fun for a week and have players get COVID and they can't play or we can't even play the game?"
On if Ole Miss has any players out for practice due to COVID…
"Yeah, we do. As you know from being around here, we're not going to get into that and the number of them or the details of it, but, yeah. We do."
On the testing protocol…
"Yeah, I'm not getting into all of that, but we are doing best we can to manage it."
On Ole Miss fans traveling to New Orleans…
"Well, I hope they show up. You never know, especially in COVID, what is going to happen and even the ones who bought them, do they keep them? Do they have COVID issues in family? Do they sell them? I don't think we'll have any idea about which side has more fans and how many actual fans are there being a neutral site game, and with all the COVID stuff going on."
On making the Sugar Bowl his Second in Oxford…
"Well, like I said in the opening, it says a lot about our players, that two short seasons, with COVID shortening the first one and no spring that year, to be in the Sugar Bowl. And crazy enough, someone said the other day: What if you would have played well versus Auburn? I don't even know if that's allowed. Are there three SEC teams in the playoffs, because we're sitting there at 11-1? That's crazy to think that you are even that close to that level in year two. It just speaks a ton of the players and formats."
On having COVID issues leading into bowl week…
"I think they have trained. They have two years of hearing worrying about what you can control. And they certainly can't control COVID, whether that's changing games or how you go to games and stuff like that. We worry about what we can control. They started to understand that, and this would fall into that."
On Caden Costa…
"Well, we hope his appeal, obviously, comes through and that he's back. I can't -- with HIPAA, I can't get into anything more than that."
Opening Statement…
"Well, we're excited to be here at the Sugar Bowl; obviously, an amazing tradition. For us to be in there in our second year, just a phenomenal job by our players and assistant coaches. Playing a great opponent. I know Coach [Dave] Aranda well—not from working with him, but from going against him at a number of places. I remember being at one of the places and there was a stat of the previous five years of where he had been, they had the best average per run allowed in the country combined over the five years. So they've always played great wherever he's been and you can see how hard they play, and give people a lot of problems. So it's an exciting match-up. Obviously COVID is still around and has been an issue that we are dealing with. We pushed back as far as we could from going down there, for as long as we could, just from getting out of our protocols here, which are easier to follow. So we'll be there eventually."
On adjusting the bowl week schedule…
"Yes, we just got back last night. So we practiced this morning. That would have been no different. We came back the same time as if we were going to New Orleans. So we would have been in New Orleans last night, practicing there this morning, just like we did. So none of the prep part has changed. We're just doing our stuff here instead of there. These players, outside of transfers, none of them have been to a bowl game, besides last year at the Outback, which was similar to this because of COVID, where we went close to the game, as opposed to a normal bowl week."
On having no opt-outs for the bowl game…
"I think it's awesome. We didn't have a conversation. It's not like someone came in wavering and we had to talk them out of it, or go over the pros and cons. I think it says a lot about this team. It shows the culture that's been created here and the improvement from year one to two year, also, when you look at that. It takes a while for your culture to set in. So that was really cool to see, to not have to deal with that."
On delaying the trip down to New Orleans…
"Ideally from a COVID standpoint, we would come in like a road game, the night before. Why are you going to go somewhere early, have your kids walking around a different city, around different people? Picture a week of walking around Bourbon Street and everything, I don't think that's really up there high on COVID protocol. So we stayed as long as they would let us, actually, because of that. It's easier to monitor kids, have them here where they are used to. There's not a lot of stuff around here with school being out, also, so there's not a lot of places for them to go and things. We really were already scheduled to leave and literally as people were leaving here before the break is when they came out allowing us not to have to go as scheduled for teams. We were already going. Had that been a day or two earlier, we may have changed even the Christmas part, and not let these kids go home for Christmas, like I think Michigan did. I know it's not ideal for them, but do you want to do that, or do you want to go have fun for a week and have players get COVID and they can't play or we can't even play the game?"
On if Ole Miss has any players out for practice due to COVID…
"Yeah, we do. As you know from being around here, we're not going to get into that and the number of them or the details of it, but, yeah. We do."
On the testing protocol…
"Yeah, I'm not getting into all of that, but we are doing best we can to manage it."
On Ole Miss fans traveling to New Orleans…
"Well, I hope they show up. You never know, especially in COVID, what is going to happen and even the ones who bought them, do they keep them? Do they have COVID issues in family? Do they sell them? I don't think we'll have any idea about which side has more fans and how many actual fans are there being a neutral site game, and with all the COVID stuff going on."
On making the Sugar Bowl his Second in Oxford…
"Well, like I said in the opening, it says a lot about our players, that two short seasons, with COVID shortening the first one and no spring that year, to be in the Sugar Bowl. And crazy enough, someone said the other day: What if you would have played well versus Auburn? I don't even know if that's allowed. Are there three SEC teams in the playoffs, because we're sitting there at 11-1? That's crazy to think that you are even that close to that level in year two. It just speaks a ton of the players and formats."
On having COVID issues leading into bowl week…
"I think they have trained. They have two years of hearing worrying about what you can control. And they certainly can't control COVID, whether that's changing games or how you go to games and stuff like that. We worry about what we can control. They started to understand that, and this would fall into that."
On Caden Costa…
"Well, we hope his appeal, obviously, comes through and that he's back. I can't -- with HIPAA, I can't get into anything more than that."
Players Mentioned
K
/ FootballPRESSER | Lane Kiffin - Week 3 vs. Arkansas (09-08-25)
Monday, September 08
PRESSER | TJ Dottery - Postgame at Kentucky (09-06-25)
Sunday, September 07
PRESSER | Harrison Wallace III - Postgame at Kentucky (09-06-25)
Sunday, September 07
PRESSER | Austin Simmons - Postgame at Kentucky (09-06-25)
Sunday, September 07