ATLANTA — A number of clips of Lane Kiffin highlighted the Ole Miss hype video that performed on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium videoboard minutes earlier than kickoff of Monday’s sport in opposition to Louisville.
Even when Kiffin isn’t within the constructing, the Ole Miss coach attracts numerous the eye.
That’s not essentially a nasty factor. Coaches are the celebs of school soccer, and Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter craved a coach like Kiffin who would entice some highlight to an often-overlooked program.
However make no mistake, No. 25 Ole Miss’ 43-24 season-opening victory over Louisville within the Chick-fil-A Kickoff wasn’t about Kiffin.
This victory was about quarterback Matt Corral exhibiting he’s worthy of the mantle of being thought of one in all school soccer’s greatest quarterbacks.
It was a few protection rising to Kiffin’s preseason problem to not be horrible.
It was about Dontario Drummond exhibiting that the Ole Miss receiving corps stays effectively stocked regardless of Elijah Moore’s departure to the NFL.
It was about Maryland switch Probability Campbell stuffing Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham on fourth down in the course of the first quarter to make sure Ole Miss would by no means fall behind.
It was about Snoop Conner darting by huge operating lanes.
It was concerning the Ole Miss secondary befuddling Cunningham for 2 quarters and limiting him to 17 first-half passing yards.
This win was about Ole Miss exhibiting there’s extra to its program than its second-year coach.
That’s not a knock on Kiffin. He’s the architect constructing Ole Miss right into a program deserving of its top-25 rating.
However Kiffin was diminished to watching Monday’s sport from his workplace and enjoying on Twitter, his favourite social media app, earlier than the sport. Kiffin introduced Saturday that he examined constructive for COVID-19, a breakthrough an infection after Kiffin and his program reached 100% vaccination this summer time.
The Rebels rapidly put to relaxation any concept that their coach’s absence would trigger them to come back out sluggish.
The one factor that would cease Ole Miss on its opening drive was the 6-yard line. Kentrel Bullock tripped over that spot and fell on the kickoff return.
Irrespective of.
Ole Miss traveled 94 yards in simply greater than three minutes throughout a drive through which Corral zipped one magnificence after one other, wanting each bit the a part of Heisman Trophy contender.
Corral’s moxie matches his arm power.
Corral suffered a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit within the second quarter whereas sliding on the finish of a fourth-down run. Louisville linebacker Monty Montgomery was ejected for the concentrating on penalty. Three performs later, Corral scampered into the tip zone on a 6-yard run.
And Ole Miss followers might exhale.
Corral’s 381 passing yards outpaced Louisville’s 355 yards of whole offense.
Ole Miss made Cunningham, Louisville’s as soon as burgeoning dual-threat quarterback, look pedestrian. He continued his regression that started final season. In Cunningham’s protection, his offensive cohorts supplied little assist.
Louisville performed like a group that may have been higher off had its coach, Scott Satterfield, accepted the South Carolina job he interviewed for in December.
By the point the Cardinals lastly scored with a third-quarter discipline objective, the sport was effectively in hand, and plenty of Ole Miss followers most likely have been feeling the consequences of their Mic Ultras.
It’s arduous to know the way spectacular this victory is as a result of by one week, the ACC appears like a joke. ACC groups went 4-6 in Week 1 nonconference video games in opposition to FBS opponents, together with an 0-3 mark in opposition to the SEC. Among the many ACC’s losses have been two to Group of 5 opponents.
The Huge Ten and Pac-12 would possibly need to rethink their alliance with the ACC and swap it for the Huge 12.
In the meantime, every thing the Rebels hoped to attain this season stays potential, due to an effort Monday that had every thing to do with the gamers within the constructing.
Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Community. E-mail him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and comply with him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. In case you get pleasure from Blake’s protection, take into account a digital subscription that can enable you entry to all of it.
This text initially appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Ole Miss soccer boasts greater than Lane Kiffin