Lane Kiffin stirred the college football pot once again on Saturday afternoon with his candid remarks about the College Football Playoff committee. Never one to shy away from voicing his opinions, the Ole Miss head coach took to social media, this time during SMU’s matchup against Penn State, to voice his dissatisfaction. At that point in the game, Penn State had a commanding 28-0 lead over SMU at halftime, emphasizing the Mustangs’ struggles.
Kiffin, in his trademark fashion, took to Twitter to make his case for the SEC, without explicitly naming names, suggesting that teams like Ole Miss, Alabama, and South Carolina deserved more recognition from the committee. “Way to keep us on the edge of our seats Committee …. Riveting,” Kiffin tweeted, sharply critiquing the current rankings.
Much of the debate is centered around Indiana’s inclusion in the playoff conversation, despite their strength of schedule being a hot topic. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), Indiana’s regular-season schedule was ranked No. 67 nationwide, the second-weakest among the 12-team bracket, trailing only Boise State at No. 80.
This discrepancy led to discussions about whether Indiana’s spot was truly warranted over some SEC teams with arguably stronger schedules. Ole Miss, Alabama, and South Carolina missed out on the playoff despite boasting higher strength of schedule rankings at 33, 18, and 13, respectively, according to ESPN.
Kiffin was unequivocal in expressing his views on how the selection should be approached. Emphasizing the rigors of playing in the SEC compared to other conferences, he remarked, “I think that this is what you’re probably going to have to get used to as fans, teams having multiple losses in this conference,” as quoted by Michael Katz. Kiffin articulated his belief that comparisons between the SEC and conferences like the ACC and Big 12 fall short of capturing the true difficulty of SEC competition.
In his words, SEC football is akin to operating in an entirely different league, drawing parallels with the NFL: “You might as well be in different leagues. Not conferences, different leagues. Like, here’s the NFL, here’s the SEC, here’s those few Big Ten teams and then here’s everybody else.” It’s clear that Kiffin sees the SEC as a cut above, and he’s not afraid to let everyone know about it.
