Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin talks with quarterback Matt Corral. John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

Ole Miss surprisingly had to grind out a win on Saturday against the worst team in the SEC, and Lane Kiffin was not pleased with the performance. Neither was Rebels quarterback Matt Corral, which made the head coach’s job a lot easier after the game.

After Ole Miss hung on to beat Vanderbilt 31-17, Kiffin told reporters that he wanted to light into his 12th-ranked team. He decided against it, figuring he does it “too much” and that his message might have been lost. Kiffin says he found out that Corral had already unloaded on his teammates.

Ole Miss was never in real danger of losing, but they certainly didn’t play to their potential. They took a 24-9 lead into halftime and scored just seven points the rest of the way.

Corral made a big announcement prior to Saturday’s game. It’s unlikely that had anything to do with the lackluster performance. In reality, the Rebels just played down to their competition. They can’t do that next week on the road against Mississippi State. Corral and Kiffin both know that.

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