For the first time this season, Lane Kiffin and Co. tasted a crushing defeat. While the dejected Rebels fans hung their heads low, another fanbase was quietly doing a happy dance– the Florida Gators.
Ever since Kiffin has been unanimously believed to be the perfect replacement for Billy Napier, the Gators fandom is bubbling with anticipation for Kiffin to switch to Florida; however, they know it’s not happening as long as Ole Miss is winning.
And Ole Miss was winning every game this season until they fell short 3 points against Kentucky on Saturday. If praying for a team’s downfall was a sport, the Gators would definitely be the winners as Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today Network believes.
But won’t a losing record be off-putting for FSU when hiring their head coach’s replacement, even though they know that Kiffin is the perfect coach for their team? Toppmeyer has an answer for that as well.
“It’s a fine line: Win enough to still look desirable, but lose enough for Ole Miss to miss the College Football Playoff and make Kiffin wonder whether he’s hit his ceiling with the Rebels and ought to uproot and resettle in The Swamp.”
Sounds like a plan, honestly. But for it to come true, Kiffin’s team would have to be borderline average to not make it to the playoffs, right?
Are the Ole Miss Rebels just an average team?
Hardly anyone would call Ole Miss just ‘average’. Although they have fizzled out against top dogs like Alabama last season, they have held up pretty well majority of the time. Their performance in their first 3 games backs up this statement.
The Rebels questionable struggle against Kentucky raises questions. The offense struggled to protect their quarterback Jaxson Dart. The defensive end also made some plays in the later part of the game that proved costly. And of course, persistent penalties continued to haunt the team.
As Kiffin predicted, Kentucky proved to be a difficult test for them. Ole Miss has a ‘tougher ones’ like LSU and Georgia lined up for the rest of the season.
Will not making it to the playoff be enough to make Kiffin question his role at Ole Miss? Only time will tell.
