October 18 came up with a costly loss for Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels. Kirby Smart’s Georgia got another win against an SEC opponent after trailing at halftime. Beating Kiffin’s boys, they sealed a third win over an SEC opponent in 2025 after being down at the half. After Kiffin and co. tasted a bitter concoction, 43-35, whipped up by Smart’s boys, the Ole Miss head coach sat for a ‘what went wrong’ session. That’s when Kiffin developed a Georgia factor that sealed a loss for them. 

After the game, On3 Sports’ Brad Logan tweeted what Kiffin said, “34 first downs, that is really concerning.” In another tweet, the analyst dropped the Rebels head coach’s quotes, “A lot of credit to Georgia. In the 4th quarter they made a lot of plays. They score every time they have the ball. You just have to keep scoring and we didn’t do that in the 4th quarter.”

“34 first downs, that is really concerning.”

Kiffin’s program hasn’t won in Athens since 1996. So, it’s obvious they went on full power mode. But somehow, Kiffin’s boys cracked under pressure. Georgia had 34 first downs in the game while Ole Miss had only 21. So, Smart’s program moved the chains far more often, and the Bulldogs took control of the game.

Trailing 35-26 heading into the fourth, Georgia flipped the script by blanking Kiffin’s program with a 17-0 blitz to close out the Rebels.

Georgia needed every bit of Lawson Luckie’s three-touchdown explosion and a defense that woke up in the fourth after getting throttled for three quarters. And how could we not acknowledge Kiffin’s other threat? The Georgia quarterback, Gunner Stockton, helped the charge back with touchdown passes of 3 yards to Nate Frazier and 7 yards to Luckie.

Stockton was nearly flawless, completing 26 of 31 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns. He connected with Dillon Bell for a 36-yard strike that set up Peyton Woodring’s 42-yard field goal with 2:06 remaining. Since their last touchdown, Kiffin’s Ole Miss has barely seen the ball. The Bulldogs hogged the ball for 11:50 while the Rebels barely touched it for 1:16. 

Off the field, things heated up between the two coaches. During a pregame presser, Kiffin was asked which of the former Alabama coordinators burns more calories on the sideline during a game.

That’s when the Ole Miss head coach stirred Smart’s pot. “That’s a good question. I walked by the TV and saw his press conference today. Doesn’t look like he’s burned too many calories,” came Kiffin’s blunt jab. 

Smart, too, had his reply ready. The Georgia head coach said on the Pat McAfee Show, “I think he’s worried about my figure. I told him, that’s my wife’s job, not his.” Unfortunately, it did not end there as Kiffin carried his sly tactics to the gridiron.

Lane Kiffin’s sideline antics with an imitative touch

The officiating in Georgia’s victory over Auburn drew intense scrutiny online. What was the most significant talking point? Smart’s crafty move. The Bulldogs’ head coach landed in controversy when he called a timeout while insisting he was clapping. But who would have thought that Kiffin would be taking notes?

With Georgia ready to send the teams into halftime, Kiffin burned a timeout to ice the kicker. That’s when the cameras panned towards the Ole Miss head coach. It caught Kiffin seemingly trolling Smart. During a 35-yard field goal try in the first half, play was briefly stopped as referees believed Kiffin had called a timeout.

It was him just pulling off a Kirby Smart move off the field. When the officiating referees confronted Kiffin over the gesture, the Ole Miss head coach’s gesture was like, ‘Chill, I was just clapping.’ 

Well, now we know who got to share the last laugh. And Lane Kiffin’s sacrifice did not pay off. The October 18th faceoff clashed with his son Knox Kiffin’s big game. The junior Kiffin’s high school, Oxford, faced off against Germantown.

Unfortunately, Lane could not tag along with his wife, Layla, to root for their son, as he had to travel to Athens. And it indeed was a costly miss. The 16-year-old 2028 quarterback helped his high school seal a 43-42 victory.

And Lane could not hug his son on his big day. So, this weekend left the Ole Miss head coach with one bittersweet memory and one straight-up bitter pill to swallow.