Lane Kiffin isn't examining his roster and trying to find a way NOT to have Ole Miss play South Carolina this week.
Quite the opposite, the first-year Rebels' coach said Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference coaches' teleconference.
Kiffin mentioned his team was banged up, and he's said for several weeks the Rebels have battled some COVID-19 issues.
But don't confuse Kiffin's acknowledgement of his roster issues as any kind of angle not to compete. He didn't mince words when asked on the call if Ole Miss might be nearing the SEC-established threshold of 53 scholarship players available this week against the Gamecocks.
“I think it's more if you don't want to play, you look at your numbers and figure it out,” Kiffin said. “We're excited to play and want to play every game.”
The SEC has postponed four contests already this week, largely due to COVID-19 contact tracing more so than positive tests, though Auburn's Gus Malzahn said his team has registered 10 positive tests this week. Auburn-Mississippi State, Alabama at LSU, Georgia at Missouri and Texas A&M at Tennessee all have been called off this week. The Aggies' trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, and Auburn's visit to Starkville, Mississippi, have both been reset for Dec. 12. That date was not available for the other two contests; Georgia could face Missouri on Dec. 19. Alabama is presently the SEC's only undefeated team and likely to play in the SEC Championship on Dec. 19, making that date untenable as a makeup date for the LSU game, as of now.
Kiffin had earlier emphasized that his team, coming out of a bye week and also just little more than a week removed from freshman tight end Damarcus Thomas being airlifted to a Memphis hospital before Thomas was later released, was low on numbers but would not make any excuses.
“Unfortunately we're pretty banged up and got a few guys out with COVID,” Kiffin said. “But we're excited to play the game and glad we're doing that.”