Lane Kiffin being roasted in light of new NCAA rules designed to halt 'fake" injuries

After years of debates, side-eyes from rival fans, and message board meltdowns, the NCAA is cracking down on one of the most frustrating trends in college football: players faking injuries to slow down the game. And no surprise here—Lane Kiffin is once again at the center of the conversation.

Kiffin, Ole Miss head coach and one of the sport’s most entertaining (and polarizing) figures, is no stranger to the tactic. While he’s certainly not the only one to employ it, let’s be honest—he’s the guy most people think of when “fake injury” memes start flying.

Now, with the NCAA officially implementing a new in-game penalty starting in the 2025-26 season, fans, pundits, and rival Twitter accounts are having a field day roasting him.

Starting this season, if medical staff runs onto the field to tend to an “injured” player after the ball has been spotted for the next play, that player’s team will be charged a timeout. If the team’s out of timeouts? That’s a five-yard delay-of-game penalty.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee made this move in response to growing frustration over injury stoppages that seemed, at least to many, suspiciously well-timed. It’s become a recurring issue, particularly in the SEC. Last season, Greg Sankey sent a warning to the teams in his conference outlining that there would be penalties for those who were caught faking injuries.

While the NCAA won’t admit this was aimed at anyone in particular, fans didn’t miss a beat. Lane Kiffin has long been accused of using his loophole, with numerous examples over the years of Rebels defenders — and even offensive players — dropping to the turf at convenient times. It’s not even subtle sometimes. And though Kiffin’s always danced around the accusations, social media never lets him off the hook.

Many Ole Miss fans have come to the defense of their coach, sharing that he asked for the rule to be changed in 2020 and then saying that he's just been making a mockery of the rule since then.

Of course, I still wouldn't call that commendable. Basically saying "hey, some teams are cheating and we don't like it, so we are going to do it even worse as to gain our own competitive advantage" isn't exactly taking the moral high ground.

Regardless, this is the first step in fixing a problem, but it still doesn't come without its questions. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out this coming season.

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