Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin learned the hard way on Saturday about how being a bad sport can rub people the wrong way.
Kiffin has been complaining on social media this weekend about how the College Football Playoff first-round blowouts were proof his team should have gotten in over the ones who did and struggled.
Well, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt wasn’t having any of Kiffin’s snarky posts.
“Way to keep us on the edge of our seats Committee …. Riveting” was the sarcastic quip Kiffin shared for Saturday’s lopsided SMU-Penn State game, and Klatt fired back with a devastating retort.
“If your team played half as well as you tweet you would likely be in,” Klatt sent back to Kiffin in a post of his own.
Yowza. If you are Kiffin, you might want to log off a bit after Klatt completely shut him down for being such a jerk.
If your team played half as well as you tweet you would likely be in https://t.co/tgpIFpxo8I
Sometimes Mississippi head coach Lane Kiffin acts like a child on social media and it’s prettyfunny. Sometimes he does and you wish he’d just grow up already.
It’s a fine line walked by every internet troll. Friday night was an example of the latter for Kiffin.
During Indiana’s 27-17 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Kiffin fired off a post on Twitter that sounded like the kind of whining you hear from the most annoying kind of sore loser.
Right around the time Notre Dame took a 27-3 lead in the fourth quarter, Kiffin couldn’t stop himself.
Yeah, Lane, tagging the College Football Playoff isn’t the cool move you think it is. But let’s make this super clear: Indiana’s performance in the Playoff is not a referendum on whether or not the Hoosiers deserved to get in (which it absolutely did). Even in the four-team playoff era not every game looked competitive.
Indiana won 11 games in the Big Ten with a schedule it had no control over. In fact, the Hoosiers end their season with the No. 32 strength of schedule per ESPN while Notre Dame sits at No. 38. When it comes to strength of record (which reflects the chance an average Top 25 team would have team’s record or better, given the schedule) Indiana ranks No. 11.
The Hoosiers convincingly beat both of last year’s national championship game participants.
But none of this is even necessary to discuss as it relates to Mississippi because the Rebels lost three games. They did not win a conference championship. In the final CFP rankings, Kiffin’s team finished No. 14 — it wasn’t even the first or second team left out of the tournament. Complaining about Indiana’s resume when the Rebels started the season against Furman, Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest and Georgia Southern is some pretty hilarious hypocrisy.
If Kiffin wants to be angry about anything regarding the playoff, he can start with his team’s losses to unranked Kentucky and Florida. Or he cant quit his whining.
Sadly, we already know that latter option will never happen.
Lane Kiffin with a mean tweet toward the CFP folks
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin was quick with his Twitter fingers on Friday night after Notre Dame throttled Indiana in a first-round CFP matchup.
The final score was 27-17 but it was not representative of how the FightinG Irish owned the Hoosiers. They led 27-3 before a couple of meaningless touchdowns.
The Rebels coach thought his team belonged in the playoffs, likely ahead of Indiana of one team and let the CFP selection committee have it.
It was mentioned during the broadcast that Curt Cignetti and his wife had looked at Indiana’s schedule when the James Madison coach was being wooed in the offseason.
They sensed there were 10 wins out there for the Hoosiers. Cignetti was right and Kiffin feels if it was that obvious the CFP decision-makers were wrong.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has had a lot to say for a coach leading a team with three losses to currently unranked teams.
Kiffin has raised concerns about Clemson’s placement in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, criticizing the perceived imbalance between the strength of schedules in different conferences. Speaking on his radio show, Kiffin expressed frustration about the Tigers’ ranking, pointing to their schedule as weaker than that of SEC teams.
“We need to play really well, first off. That’s what’s in our control,” Kiffin said on his radio show Wednesday night. “And other things to happen. I’m not gonna get into the whole thing. And I’m not saying because of us. It’s ridiculous, the difference of playing in the SEC and the ACC and Big 12. To see these rankings – I’m not even doing the Ole Miss homer thing.
“To think that you’re looking at schools and you’re talking about, like, Clemson’s schedule and who they played over Alabama. It’s stupid. … I’m not gonna name them. Take some of those teams that are up there that haven’t played anybody and put them down in the SEC, they’re .500 teams.”
Despite the critique, Clemson (9-2) remains in playoff contention, needing a win over South Carolina to strengthen its resume. Kiffin’s frustrations come after Ole Miss’ loss to Florida, which has almost certainly ended their playoff hopes. Clemson’s consistent performance and upcoming rivalry game against South Carolina are key to their postseason ambitions, despite the criticism of their schedule.
Clemson is in a better situation than Kiffin and Ole Miss, no matter what the head coach feels.
So, do Florida fans still want to hire Lane Kiffin to replace Billy Napier or…?
Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss team took down then-No. 3 Georgia earlier in November, had a bye week and returned from the break with a stunning 24-17 loss to unranked Florida.
This loss almost certainly ended Ole Miss’ shot at the College Football Playoff, and understandably, fans were furious with Kiffin and his squad. But, of course, Florida and general college football fans had so many jokes.
The Gators earned their sixth win of the season by limiting Ole Miss’ offense — which entered Week 13 ranked No. 2 in FBS play with an average of 539.6 yards per game — from converting third downs and forcing three turnovers. The final turnovers, though, were the real daggers and helped secure Florida’s victory.
With 1:32 left in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, playing aggressively and desperately, threw an end-zone interception into triple coverage. But Florida called game with a second interception against Dart with 17 seconds left after Ole Miss got the ball back.
Well, after Saturday’s game, not only are Florida fans (probably) walking that hire suggestion back, but college football fans in general also roasted Kiffin and his team’s implosion.
Florida fans probably no longer want to hire Lane Kiffin to replace Billy Napier after the Gators’ win
This season started with every gators fan begging for Lane Kiffin lmaooo
Lane Kiffin going for it on 4th and short on the road against an inferior opponent and not getting it when he could’ve just tied it with a field goal? pic.twitter.com/EwB6eioUxS
Billy Napier beating Lane Kiffin — when just a month ago a lot of fans wanted Napier fired and Kiffin hired to replace him — to knock Ole Miss out of the playoff is so absolutely hilarious.
Of course, Kiffin was fired from his USC job in 2013 soon after those comments and then joined Nick Saban and Alabama as that team’s offensive coordinator. The rest is history, leading up to Kiffin’s Ole Miss upsetting Georgia this past Saturday.
Kiffin once again credited that chain of events to Finebaum, who of course isn’t the main reason Kiffin got fired at USC but probably didn’t help matters with his pointed, public commentary.
“I wouldn’t have been here to have the Georgia win if you wouldn’t have got me fired at USC,” Kiffin told Finebaum, who laughed at the comment. “Again, I’m grateful to you, Paul. Thanks for that day. Thanks for the Miley Cyrus comment.”
Both seemed to be in good spirits during the moment, and it looks like they’ve mostly buried the hatchet over one of the more infamous disses in recent college football history.
You can still detect a little salt from Kiffin, but this is probably as amicable as it’s going to get between these two.
“We planned for this game for a year, game-planned all offseason,” said Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin after the Georgia game
The Ole Miss Rebels dominated the Georgia Bulldogs 28-10 in a huge home win to keep Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff hopes alive. Ole Miss forced three Georgia turnovers and shutdown the Georgia offense after the Bulldogs scored an opening drive touchdown.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin deserves credit for rebuilding the Rebels after Georgia embarrassed Ole Miss 52-17 in Athens a year ago.
“A year ago we lost to these guys by like 30,” Kiffin said to ESPN reporter Molly McGrath after Ole Miss’ 28-10 upset win. “We made a decision, we’ve got to recruit differently. We’ve got to go shopping. We planned for this game for a year, game-planned all offseason.”
So what changed since 2023? Ole Miss upgraded its defensive line while maintaining a strong offense. The Rebels bullied Georgia in the trenches. Ole Miss outrushed Georgia 134 to 59. The Rebels’ unleashed their elite pass rush on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who took five sacks.
Georgia deserves some criticism as well. The Bulldogs’ offense has been inconsistent this season. Dropped passes, interceptions and an inefficient rushing attack has plagued the Dawgs’ offense all season.
College football fans have a suspect for why there are so many squirrels on Ole Miss’ field this season.
Welcome to FTW Explains: A guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. The college football is making jokes about Lane Kiffin and squirrels, and you may be wondering what’s up with that. We’ve got you covered.
Something unexpected happened Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi. It was odd but not particularly unique for an Ole Miss football game, and no, we’re not talking about Ole Miss upsetting Georgia with a decisive 28-10 victory — though that happened.
And now, college football fans are speculating, positing, theorizing that perhaps, just maybe, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is behind the squirrel delay. Was it there for fun or nefarious reasons? After all, this isn’t the first time this has happened at an Ole Miss game.
But let’s back up.
A squirrel on the field caused a delay in the Ole Miss’ upset against Georgia
Saturday early in the second quarter of the Bulldogs’ road game against Ole Miss, this squirrel ran on the field. Obviously, it’s challenging to catch a speedy squirrel or even to gently usher it off the field and out of harm’s way, so there was a little bit of a delay.
But this wasn’t the first squirrel on Ole Miss’ field this season?
Nope! A few weeks ago during Ole Miss’ home win over Oklahoma, a squirrel was spotted on the field at the end of the first quarter, causing another momentary delay.
Was it the same squirrel? A different one? Where are they coming from? Are they trying to football? What is going on with all the squirrels at Ole Miss?!
Something fishy is super definitely going on, and college football fans love conspiracy theories.
So why are fans blaming Lane Kiffin for releasing the squirrels?
Nov 9, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; A squirrel runs across the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium during the first half between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Mississippi Rebels. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Well, Kiffin and his creativity are kind of legendary in college football, so college football fans are wondering… maybe he’s actually behind the squirrel invasion.
The SEC responded with penalties for fake injuries
Faking injuries — presumably in lieu of burning a timeout or to disrupt another team’s rhythm — became such a problem that SEC commissioner Greg Sankey warned teams against it earlier this month and threatened penalties.
“As plainly as it can be stated: Stop any and all activity related to faking injuries to create time-outs,” Sankey wrote in the memo, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.
He ended the memo by writing: “Play football and stop the feigned injury nonsense.”
Per ESPN, the penalties include a public reprimand and $50,000 fine to a head coach on a first offense, another reprimand and $100,000 fine for a second and, should it happen a third time, the coach will be suspended for the next game. Similar punishments will happen for staff members encouraging this.
So, naturally, college football fans are pointing to Lane Kiffin as the squirrel wrangler
With Ole Miss having multiple egregious fake injury moments and the SEC threatening fines, college football fans naturally drew the very logical and without-fault conclusion that Kiffin is behind the squirrel invasion at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Does he whistle, and a squirrel comes out? Do he and the squirrel communicate on a radio? Does Kiffin just have endless squirrels in his pockets? We need answers!
The SEC: We will fine/suspend you if you fake injuries ✋
As the theories continued, some on college football Twitter even speculated about other capabilities of the squirrel — along with many jokes — and, you know, they might just be on to something. Who knows?!
The squirrel is part of a sign-stealing scam by Lane Kiffin, no I will not be elaborating further
On Saturday in Oxford, No. 16 Ole Miss upset No. 3 Georgia by a comfortable margin, winning 28-10 despite interference from squirrels. Ole Miss didn’t allow the Bulldogs to score a touchdown in the final three quarters.
And fans in Mississippi pounced on the opportunity on the heels of the historic win – the biggest of Kiffin’s tenure so far – to rush the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, albeit doing so a bit prematurely.
But once fans got on the field, they had their way with the goalposts, climbing on them and ultimately tearing them down. The Oxford Police Department quickly admitted defeat via social media:
With the result of Alabama versus LSU still pending, the SEC has five teams with two losses as of Saturday afternoon, which should make the battle for at-large bids to the playoff all the more interesting.
Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin explains Georgia’s situation with quarterback Carson Beck: “It’s a good problem to have.”
Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin has had Saturday’s matchup with the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs circled on his calendar for a long time. Kiffin and Ole Miss lost to Georgia 52-17 in Athens a year ago. Kiffin vowed to change things within his program following the Rebels’ humbling loss to Georgia last season.
Now, No. 16 Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2) faces Georgia (7-1, 5-1) with its College Football Playoff hopes on the line at home. Kiffin has a lot of respect for Georgia and head coach Kirby Smart.
“Anybody that’s going to win it (the playoff), it’s going to have to go through Georgia at some point. They’re the premier program in college football. You know, outside of Alabama, they won 51 straight games,” said Kiffin. Georgia’s last loss, outside of Alabama, came to Florida in 2020.
Kiffin and Ole Miss beefed up their defensive front and other areas of their roster in the offseason in preparation for playing teams like Georgia. The Rebels have the third-best scoring defense in the SEC at 13.2 points per game and the SEC’s top rushing defense at only 82.2 yards per game.
“I hope so,” said Kiffin when asked if the Rebels roster is better this season versus last season. “You know, that game didn’t go very well a year ago. But every game is independent and different, so yeah, I think we’re in a better place.”
Ole Miss’ season has not gone exactly to plan with the Rebels suffering losses to LSU and Kentucky. Still, Ole Miss has a very strong team that will be much more competitive against Georgia this season.
“I think he is very talented, played great, played an amazing game against us a year ago,” said Kiffin on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. “You know, he’s throwing some picks, but quarterbacks go through that.”
Beck has thrown 11 interceptions over his past five games. Georgia’s offense has remained effective despite Beck’s turnover issues.
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“You got a great quarterback, versus some people around the country who say ‘okay, well they protect the ball but the quarterback can’t make the throws.’ So it’s a good problem to have,” continued Kiffin on Beck, who is still the No. 15 quarterback in the country in passing yardage with 2,302 yards.
