Ole Miss appreciates being at 2-0 despite below-par performance on pass defense

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin took to the podium after the Middle Tennessee game, citing mainly positives. After saying he wanted to establish it all week, Kiffin was impressed with the run game. Henry Parrish Jr. certainly showcased his skills, rushing 14 times for 165 yards and four touchdowns.

Kiffin was very impressed with the offense, citing the players, offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., and analyst Joe Judge. The Rebels had over 600 offensive yards for the second consecutive game to start the season, but Kiffin wasn't entirely happy with the team's performance.

Lane Kiffin not happy with the pass defense

One area where Lane Kiffin saw a drop in performance was in the secondary, which gave up too many passing plays. When asked how far he feels the defense is from where he wants it to be, Kiffin answered honestly.

""I thought it was probably closer prior to the game. I think we didn't play really clean in the back end, and they dropped some balls. We are not going to be able to play like that in the SEC against better-passing teams, so we got to clean that up.""

- Lane Kiffin in post game presser

Kiffin also said, looking around the country, most teams have improvements to make, with Ole Miss being appreciative that they are 2-0. Looking at the Week 2 results, Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois, Auburn went down to California, and plenty of other teams struggled against lesser opponents.

All in all, Kiffin was pleased with the performance heading into the Week 3 game on the road to Wake Forest. He was happy to get players back who hadn't featured yet, including wide receiver Jordan Watkins. Despite the Demon Deacons falling to 1-1, losing to Virginia by one point, the Rebels will have a step up in ability again.