The Ole Miss offense was playing a video game in 2024 and naming their score through the first month of the 2024 college football season. That changed in Week 5 against Kentucky.

Lane Kiffin’s spread-tempo offense entered the first SEC game ranking inside the top five in numerous offensive statistics but ended the game against Kentucky scoring only 17 points in 11 possessions. The Rebels could not establish the run, failed to get tempo rolling, and got only 85 receiving yards on 12 passes when not targeting star wideout Tre Harris. Kentucky’s defense controlled the Rebels and played a big role in Kentucky pulling the double-digit upset at Vaught-Heminway Stadium.

In his postgame press conference on Saturday afternoon, Kiffin stated that Georgia linebacker transfer Jamon Dumas-Johnson “made a total difference” from a mentality standpoint for the Kentucky defense. Kiffin doubled-down on those comments on Monday during his press conference to preview the upcoming game against South Carolina in Week 6.

“Ultra sound, keep the ball in front of you. Really big bodies. (Mark) Stoops built that defense that way. I think the addition of the Georgia linebacker was huge for them from a mentality and leadership standpoint,” Kiffin said. “Saw what they did to us, saw what they did to Georgia.

Jamon Dumas-Johnson finished the Ole Miss game with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one pressure in 47 defensive snaps. On the season, the former first-team All-American has 20 tackles, three tackles for loss, and three pressures in 179 defensive snaps. The transfer has been a rock-solid addition to the defense. During games, Dumas-Johnson has a clear vocal presence helping the team get lined up pre-snap and in correct spots quickly against tempo offenses. The SEC transfer has been stout against the run and has been used occasionally as an edge defender when Kentucky shows some five-man fronts. Ole Miss felt Dumas-Johnson’s presence on Saturday afternoon in Oxford.

The addition of the big-ticket off-ball linebacker transfer has made the Kentucky defense a headache to go against.

“I think that was a really, really good defense that’s going to give a lot of people problems. Look what they did to Georgia,” Kiffin said about Kentucky’s defense on Monday. “Look how Georgia couldn’t run the ball for the most part and then look what Georgia just did to Alabama yardage wise and scoring.”

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