Cowbell Corner

Lane Kiffin throws shade from Oxford as Bulldogs get torched by Georgia

Mississippi State’s blowout loss to Georgia got even worse when Lane Kiffin trolled the Bulldogs during his own halftime interview.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin looks on during warm ups prior to the game against The Citadel Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin looks on during warm ups prior to the game against The Citadel Bulldogs at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Mississippi State BulldogsOle Miss Rebels

Here’s a story for Mississippi State fans looking to rub a little bit of salt into their wounds.

The Bulldogs just suffered their most dominant defeat this season. Overtime losses excluded, getting blown out by almost 30 points (before late-game touchdowns) in front of a home crowd that saw its half of its student section leave at halftime is about as bad as it can get.

And having the head coach of Mississippi State’s biggest rival troll the Bulldogs at halftime of this own game against an FCS team is the salt for the wounds.

“Excited Georgia is boat racing Mississippi State,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said when asked about his own team’s performance against The Citadel at halftime. “Oh, our game? We’re playing well.”

The Rebels’ game against The Citadel started an hour after Mississippi State’s game against Georgia. So, his comments came during the second half of the game in Starkville.

There’s a Kirby Smart-angle to this, too. Kiffin and Smart have been trading jabs even since the week leading up to Ole Miss’s loss to Georgia.

Kiffin’s halftime comments were, objectively, great. It was different than the usually coach speak halftime interviews produce and great way to poke fun at two of his biggest rivals.

It should be restated Kiffin made these comments in halftime of a home game against an FCS team the Rebels led 14-0 after 30 minutes.

But Mississippi State fans still won’t appreciate Kiffin’s comments.

Or they simply won’t care because their own team has enough problems of its own.

Either way, it should make the lead up to the Egg Bowl in three weeks very entertaining.

There’s definitely going to be a quarterback controversy this week (unless Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby comes out Monday and announces Kamario Taylor will be this week’s starting quarterback), questions about the poor offensive line play (three sacks and a QB hit that may have ended Blake Shapen’s collegiate career) and there’ll be some fallout from the defensive performance (303 rushing yards allowed, no sacks).

Another concern for the Bulldogs is their ultimate goal of going to a bowl game. There’s only two chances left to get that sixth win: next week at Missouri (one of the nation’s best rushing teams) and in three weeks when they host No. 6 Ole Miss (who’ll probably be in a spot needing just one win to make the College Football Playoff).

Mississippi State fans likely already understood that reality and Kiffin’s comments are the salt that adds a little bit of extra pain.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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