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When there are sparks in the fire pit, you can usually count on Lane Kiffin to pour gasoline all over them. The Ole Miss football head coach is a soundbite machine and a purveyor of social media mayhem, relishing the opportunity to troll fans or even his peers. If someone is going to make a critical remark that is even remotely about his program, there is a chance Kiffin will bite back.
The gripe he chose to address on Monday concerned the SEC's schedule. Illinois HC Bret Bielema and others have called out SEC squads for only playing eight games annually against league opposition, while the Big Ten competes in nine conference matchups each season. Many believe this differentiation should be a factor during the College Football Playoff selection process. Naturally, Kiffin thinks otherwise.
He lauded the SEC's level of competition, while taking a shot at its fellow behemoth.
“People will say, ‘Well, this conference plays nine games, this plays eight games,'” Kiffin said during SEC Media Days, per On3's Nick Schultz. “I don’t think there’s anybody that would trade their nine games and want to come play our eight games that you play down here and the places that you play down here. … You can have teams that aren’t really having a good year for them, but you’ve got to go play at their place down here. It’s just different.
“Scheduling here in this conference and what you do week to week, and the NFL Draft shows that, too. Those are the players you’re playing against. It’s so balanced throughout the conference that every week, you’ve got to really show up. It’s really like the NFL, and I don’t feel like that’s the case in these other conferences or a really good conference similar to us that’s top-heavy, but doesn’t have the middle and bottom the way that we do.”
Lane Kiffin thinks Ole Miss deserves more respect for playing an SEC slate
Kiffin is sending a clear message to the Big Ten and all other conferences who question the SEC's approach or validity. He does not think this league has an equal. There are not many places to hide in the land where “it just means more.” Kiffin and Ole Miss can certainly attest to that. A home loss to Kentucky, a squad that finished second from the bottom with only one win in the conference, cost the Rebels a chance to earn their first CFP appearance.
Regardless of how deep a league is, if a team falls to a sub-.500 squad at any point in the season, the committee is going to penalize that program severely in the rankings. Ole Miss football could have sent Oxford on a thrill ride it would treasure for a long, long time. Instead, they failed to rise to the occasion in multiple instances, including in a road matchup versus Florida on Nov. 23.
Ole Miss was omitted from the 12-team CFP field, a decision that Kiffin condemned. It is no surprise that he continues to adamantly defend the SEC schedule. But there will come a time when the Rebels must overcome the obstacles that lie in front of them. Otherwise, fans will view Lane Kiffin as a masterful entertainer and impressive play-caller rather than an excellent head coach.
