Ole Miss's embarrassing statement casts ugly light on 2022 run-in with Texas A&M

Ole Miss issues statement on faking injuries, bringing back up clips of Lane Kiffin accusing Texas A&M football player of using tactic against him

The 2022 game between Texas A&M football and Ole Miss was notable for several reasons. It was Conner Weigman's debut as a starter, and he absolutely dazzled fans - even in a loss, Weigman looked the part of a future star, tossing 4 TDs and 0 INTs in what had up until that point been an entirely anemic offense.

Of course, that's also the game that the Aggies gave up nearly 400 yards rushing to Quinshon Judkins and Jaxson Dart; a low point for that year's A&M defense. While DJ Durkin's unit would significantly improve their rush defense the following year, this was a watershed moment in a negative way.

Not only that, though. There was an interaction during the course of this game that caught the eye of Aggie fans. Lane Kiffin confronted then-freshman Bryce Anderson on the sidelines, and had words with him.

I'm no lip reader, but it looks pretty clear from this video that Kiffin is telling Anderson to "fake another injury" in disgust (at least, feigned disgust). He also clearly has some pretty choice words for him.

This was ironic even at the time, given the well-known penchant of Kiffin teams to engage in just the practice he is sarcastically decrying (in frustration at having the tables turned, maybe) in this video. Fast forward to today, and it has become even more ironic.

Ole Miss issued a statement last Friday on what they are calling "feigned injuries," which you can read below. A&M fans were quick to note the irony.

Things really feel like they've reached a breaking point with Kiffin's Ole Miss teams on this front, too. The broadcast during Saturday's game between the Rebels and LSU made note of the inordinate amount of stopdowns that have occurred thanks to Ole Miss players going down.

The Rebs very clearly had a guy go down when LSU had momentum late in the game in order to trigger a review on a catch - one that was eventually overturned.

For his part, Bud Elliott of Cover 3 isn't buying Ole Miss's statement:

Faking injuries is not necessarily against the rules at this point, though it is strongly discouraged. It currently amounts to a pretty unethical loophole. Given the outcry about it, though, I'd be surprised if we don't see some action taken in this area over the offseason.