"This is a really good challenge for us coming off a bye," Kiffin said. "In college football, you have to come to play every week."
The No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels (5-0) return to action this Saturday, October 11, 2025, after their midseason bye week, set to host the 3-2 Washington State Cougars in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Rebels will look to continue their undefeated start and carry their first-half momentum into the second half of the season.
Head coach Lane Kiffin met with the media Monday to preview the 11:45 am CT kickoff, while Cayden Lee, Wydett Williams Jr., and Will Echoles also spoke with reporters.
Back At It
Washington State enters Oxford with a 3-2 record and a defense that has impressed through the first half of the season, owning a top-30 pass defense at just 179.8 yards yielded per game. Under first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers, the Cougars present a new challenge for the undefeated Rebels.
“This is a really good challenge for us coming off a bye,” Kiffin said. “In college football, you have to come to play every week.”
Kiffin noted that Washington State’s defense has given up just 3, 10, and 13 points in its three wins this season, stressing that Ole Miss’ offense will need to be sharp.
“Even in some of these games they’ve been down, they played really great defense as a unit,” Kiffin added.
With both teams rested and prepared, Saturday’s matchup will test the Rebels’ offensive rhythm and execution against one of the west coast’s better defenses.
Blocking Out the Noise
The Rebels remained No. 4 in Sunday’s AP Poll — their highest ranking since 2015. Kiffin is urging his team to ignore outside noise and focus on going 1-0 each week.
“It’ll really challenge our guys not to listen to the noise about rankings, because none of that means anything until the final week,” Kiffin said.
Lee echoed his coach’s sentiment, saying, “I think we are really focused right now. We’ve got a lot of players playing really well, and if we continue on this path, we’ll put ourselves in a really good position.”
As the season progresses, maintaining that disciplined mindset will be key for the Rebels to stay in playoff contention.
Defensive Focus
After standout performances against Tulane and LSU, the Ole Miss defense is looking to build on its recent momentum. The Rebels held both Tulane QB Jake Retzlaff and LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier to career lows in passing yards and now face Washington State quarterback Zevi Eckhaus, who holds a 138.1 QB rating on the season.
Kiffin said the Cougars “throw the ball really well,” while emphasizing that the Rebel defense used the bye week to refine their focus and preparation.
Williams Jr., who recorded his first interception as a Rebel alongside four tackles in the Magnolia Bowl, said, “The focus was well maintained and the coaches still coached us hard — everything remained the same.”
Echoles credited the defense’s improvement to increased cohesion and chemistry. “We’re getting better and better every week,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep improving.”
If the Rebel defense continues its recent form, it could be the deciding factor in keeping Ole Miss among the nation’s elite.
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