Wow, that was fast.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin took a sarcastic dig at the College Football Playoff with one game remaining after the Rebels failed to qualify for the newly reformed postseason. .
“It’s a really exciting competitive game,” Kiffin said. X I wrote this on Friday night. After the contest between Notre Dame and Indiana reached its climax. “Great job!!”
You can forgive the sarcasm, but Kiffin had an unpleasant night.
The head coach watched from his home in South Bend as No. 7 Notre Dame upset No. 10 Indiana, giving the Hoosiers the distinct honor of being eliminated from the 12-team College Football Playoff for the first time in history.
The final score was 27-17, but a 10-point difference does not adequately evaluate their destructive power.
Notre Dame's defense held Indiana to its second fewest points of the season, but the Hoosiers did not score their first touchdown of the game until less than 1:30 left in the fourth quarter.
Could Kiffins Rebels have been more competitive? The world will never know.
Although their head coach certainly thinks so.
Ole Miss lost to the Florida Gators in the penultimate contest of the season, nearly eliminating them from playoff contention.
It was the Rebels' third loss of the season, all three of which came in the SEC.
Ole Miss had no chance to prove its efforts this season unless it qualified for the conference championship game. The Rebels finished 14th in the final rankings.
Despite a number of impressive wins, including a 28-10 win over the No. 1 opponent in the world at the time, they likely won't qualify for the playoffs. 3 Georgia the week before the Florida disaster. Instead, the Rebels were sent to the Tax Slayer Gator Bowl.
Instead of Ole Miss, the committee granted coveted bids to teams such as No. 10 seed Indiana. Indiana finished with 11 wins, but played the 32nd toughest schedule in the country. ESPN's Football Power Index.
And third-seeded Boise State, which won 12 games, only played one opponent, who was ranked No. 1 at the time. 7 Oregon State — to win the Mountain West Championship.
The Broncos' schedule was the 81st most difficult in the nation, according to ESPN.
With Friday's win, the Fighting Irish book a matchup with No. 2 Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, scheduled for New Year's Day with kickoff 8:45 p.m.
Ole Miss supporters are busy counting down the days until the Rebels take to the field in 2025.
