After Ole Miss’ 34-26 win over Oklahoma on Saturday, Lane Kiffin fired back at Brent Venables’ assessment that the Sooners “were the better team” despite losing at home.
“That’s an interesting take. That’s a hot take,” Kiffin said during Monday’s press conference. “I wouldn’t have thought people watching would say that. We won at their place, in weather that a defensive head coach would normally wish for, and we won by eight points. I think we left a lot out there. I think we should’ve won by a couple of scores.”
Venables’ comments came on Sunday after Ole Miss rolled up 431 total yards on an Oklahoma defense that entered the weekend ranked No. 1 nationally in total defense and second in scoring defense. The Rebels posted 21 first downs to the Sooners’ 14 and ran 87 offensive plays with just one sack allowed and no turnovers.
Lane Kiffin on Brent Venables saying Oklahoma has a better team than Ole Miss:
“Interesting take. That’s a hot take.
“Maybe they had the better team last year, too.”
“Maybe he had the better team at Oklahoma when we beat them 55-19 in the national championship.”
“Maybe he had… pic.twitter.com/lchV463Vou
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 27, 2025
Kiffin was clearly amused and went on to reference his previous meetings with Venables in national championship games, both of which his teams won.
“Maybe they had the better team last year too when we beat them,” Kiffin said. “Maybe he had the better team in Oklahoma when (USC) beat him 55-19 in the national championship– maybe. Maybe he had the better team at Clemson when we beat him 45-40 in the national championship at Alabama. Next question, my bad.”
Kiffin served as USC’s receivers coach when the Trojans beat Venables’ Oklahoma defense for the 2004 title, and later as Alabama’s offensive coordinator in the 2015 championship win over Clemson.
The Rebels (7-1, 4-1 SEC) host South Carolina on Saturday, while Oklahoma (6-2, 2-2 SEC) visits No. 14 Tennessee.
