Mississippi just smacked Oklahoma and harpooned the Gators, with a win that helps secure Lane Kiffin. Could he really leave a playoff team?
Lane Kiffin became a renegade when he left Tennessee for USC, but this situation differs, with Ole Miss in playoff hunt.
Trinidad Chambliss delivers star effort in support of his coach.
Mississippi just smacked the Sooners and harpooned the Gators, all in a day’s work.
Florida, how’s Eli Drinkwitz or Jedd Fisch or James Franklin looking? Better than Billy Napier, at least, but I’m afraid Florida’s dream fit Lane Kiffin is going to be tied up with the College Football Playoff.
The No. 8 Rebels have achieved several impressive feats under Kiffin, but this 34-26 takedown of No. 11 Oklahoma ranks as the most momentous, because of what it does in the larger sense to help secure a coach Ole Miss cannot afford to lose.
Kiffin couldn’t possibly flee for Florida and leave behind a team that’s looking like a slam dunk for the College Football Playoff, right?
Only a traitor, a renegade to his core, would leave this plucky squad that could ride into December with a 11-1 record, and surely Kiffin’s not a tr– … OK, so there’s no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to Kiffin. He relishes being a wild card.
Peek at Ole Miss’ November schedule, though. It’s cake. This triumph at Oklahoma charts a course for the Rebels to snag either a playoff bye or at least a first-round home game.
All of which points to Ole Miss’ season continuing into January. That would erect a massive hurdle toward Florida hiring Kiffin, because the Gators probably would want their new coach installed by the time the transfer portal opens on Jan. 2.
The Rebels’ leaky defense remains a liability toward an SEC title or a national championship pursuit. Kiffin probably wishes he could mainline some of Florida’s defenders into his team.
But, so long as Ole Miss hunts in the playoff with at least a sliver of hope for the top prize, it’s difficult to envision Kiffin vamoosing, even if Florida is a perfect fit for a coach who idolized Steve Spurrier and coaches and quips like he’s inspired by the Head Ball Coach.
Ole Miss reaching playoff would help secure Lane Kiffin
If Kiffin brings a national title to Ole Miss, they’ll build him a statue. Heck, they might do that if he just stays and secures the first playoff bid in program history.
If he leaves a playoff team, alert the fire department. Kiffin could be burned in effigy.
This game was not Kiffin’s magnum opus of in-game coaching. The Rebels won somewhat in spite of Kiffin’s decision-making. He got too cute when he inserted backup quarterback Austin Simmons into a red-zone situation. Ole Miss settled for a field goal after Simmons’ consecutive incompletions. Later, in Kiffin’s persistent quest to overthink this, he inserted Simmons for a failed 2-point conversion.
Ole Miss also gifted Oklahoma three points after it botched a 4th-and-1 from its own 25 yard-line.
Not great, Lane.
Trinidad Chambliss had his coach’s back.
Trinidad Chambliss keeps Oklahoma (and Florida) at bay
Chambliss, the Division II transfer quarterback, keeps authoring one of college football’s most remarkable stories. In less than a year, he went from quarterbacking Ferris State to fueling 431 yards of offense against one of the nation’s best defenses.
A human joystick, Chambliss kept wiggling around and keeping plays alive. When Oklahoma stole the lead in the second half, Chambliss struck back with a touchdown toss. Later, he threw a deep dime to Winston Watkins to set up an insurance score.
This victory demanded contributions from all three phases. Lucas Carneiro banged through four field goals for Ole Miss, and Trace Bruckler forced an Oklahoma fumble on a fourth-quarter punt return. As officials tried to sort out who had possession, Kiffin ran onto the field and made the initial signal, waving his hand to correctly indicate Ole Miss had the pigskin. Onward march.
Can Lane Kiffin resist renegade past?
Fifteen years ago, Kiffin donned the black hat and made a traitorous turn out of Tennessee. Sure, he left for his dream job in Southern California, but do you think the Vols fans burning a mattress in the streets cared about that? Kiffin became a renegade that night, and that was after NFL owner Al Davis dubbed Kiffin a “flat-out liar.”
Kiffin tuned up his reputation the past several years. He turned down the Auburn job, and he’s stayed at Mississippi longer than many ever thought he would. He’s found the best rhythm he’s ever had in his career.
Now, here’s Florida with a tempting opportunity to interrupt that course.
Taking that job, though, would demand Kiffin rekindle his past as a renegade. Why reprise that old role, when Kiffin’s Ole Miss tenure nears a crescendo, with the Rebels roaring toward the playoff?
‘Our guys finished,’ Kiffin said after the victory.
Now, Kiffin’s got to finish what he started at Ole Miss.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.