Lane Kiffin: No. 9 Ole Miss Has ‘Nothing to Lose’ in Saturday Matchup Against No. 2 Georgia

On Saturday, No. 9 Ole Miss faces No. 2 Georgia on the road, in what is one of the biggest matchups of the weekend in college football.

Don't tell that to Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, though. He wants his team, which still has a chance -- albeit a long shot one -- to reach the SEC Championship Game, to play loose against the two-time defending national champions.

"I think you've got to watch that you don't give off a tight, nervous vibe to your team," Kiffin told ESPN's Chris Low on Wednesday. "As I've looked back at the two road trips like this with elite teams, the two times we went to Alabama, the players could feel me get uptight and we played that way."

In both matchups, Ole Miss came in ranked in the top 15 of the AP poll. However, Kiffin's high-octane offense was stifled both times by Alabama's suffocating defense, with Ole Miss losing 42-21 and 24-10, respectively.

With another huge conference battle on tap against the Bulldogs, what is Kiffin's mindset? That Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 in the SEC) has "nothing to lose."

"I say that because this game has a different feel," Kiffin added. "Georgia is the No. 1 team in the country [in the AP poll]. They haven't lost at home in four years. We're little ol' Ole Miss. We're double-digit underdogs going there at night. I mean, what is there to lose?"

Ole Miss may indeed have "nothing to lose" in the eyes of its head coach, but with a win, it could certainly make the race for the four spots in the College Football Playoff even more interesting.

After all, with a win at Samford Stadium, Ole Miss would force Georgia (9-0, 6-0) to have to knock off No. 13 Tennessee on the road on Nov. 18 to lock up its spot in a third straight SEC title game.

If the Bulldogs lose both, and the Volunteers (who play No. 14 Missouri, with whom they are tied for second in the SEC East at 3-2 in conference play, on Saturday), win out, then Tennessee will find itself in Atlanta for the first time since 2007.

Plus, if Ole Miss finishes the regular season 11-1 -- a possibility if it beats Georgia, with Lousiana-Monroe and Mississippi State on the schedule to close out November -- with wins against Georgia, No. 23 Tulane and No. 19 LSU, some chaos over Thanksgiving weekend and on Conference Championship Saturday could lend some credibility to Mississippi's playoff case.

For now, though, Kiffin isn't focused on those hypotheticals. He just wants his team to go out and play some football.

"That's what I'm saying to our players," Kiffin said. "There shouldn't be any pressure. Just go play."