Lane Kiffin isn’t pulling punches when it comes to the College Football Playoff (CFP) system.
As the head coach of Ole Miss, Kiffin has been one of the loudest voices calling out what he sees as major flaws in how teams are selected. And with the Rebels ranked at No. 13 in the latest CFP poll, he’s not holding back.
“I think that this is what you’re probably going to have to get used to as fans,” Kiffin said via On3. “Teams having multiple losses in this conference… It’s why it’s just different. It’s just totally different.”
For Kiffin, the SEC is in a league of its own, incomparable to other conferences. He continued, “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.”
Kiffin’s frustrations extend beyond just the strength of the SEC. He took aim at the CFP committee itself, questioning whether its members truly understand the challenges SEC teams face.
“Have any of those coaches [on the committee] been down here in the deep south, into these stadiums and played in these games?” he asked. “How do they even know? How do they even know what it’s like to have to go win in these stadiums?”
The numbers don’t help soothe his frustration. Despite beating Georgia in a head-to-head matchup, Ole Miss finds itself outside the playoff picture, while teams from less competitive conferences rank ahead of them. Kiffin added, “It’s much different than where these other conferences go and play their 6-6 teams… It’s a lot easier when you have to get up for two games a year.”
While Kiffin continues to complain, he conveniently looks over the fact that the Rebels lost to a Kentucky team at home that was just blown off the field, 41-14, by a middle-of-the-road ACC team in Louisville.
The SEC is a very good and competitive conference, but anyone who can't see the obvious bias in rankings — such as Missouri being ranked, but Duke being left out — is just missing the point. The conference gets the benefit of the doubt more times than not, and Kiffin can't come to grips with the fact that three losses should be enough to eliminate anyone, regardless of their conference.
Kiffin will likely continue to plead his case, but that won't matter: Ole Miss isn't going to the College Football Playoff.