Lane Kiffin would have coached Ole Miss in the playoffs back in 2024 … without a home loss to a bad Kentucky team.
That game was brought up on the Southeastern Conference teleconference on Wednesday, and Kiffin did not sugarcoat his feelings about his No. 5-ranked Rebels’ 20-17 home defeat to the unranked, 17-point underdog Wildcats on Sept. 28 of that season. And that was with Kiffin’s No. 1 portal class in the nation. Kentucky would go on to finish 4-8 overall and 1-7 in the SEC that season.
The Rebels, meanwhile, ended the regular season at 9-3 (5-3 SEC) and ranked No. 14, just missing the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, which had previously been at four teams. Ole Miss made the CFP in 2025 at 11-1 and 7-1, but Kiffin left for the LSU head coaching job after the regular season.
A 10-3 and 6-2 Ole Miss team likely would have made the CFP in 2024.
“Ok, I lost you there. I couldn’t hear the beginning of it,” Kiffin said.
After the question was clarified as a learning moment for him, Kiffin said, “Oh. Two years ago? When we lost?”
Once Kiffin realized which game the questioner was asking about, he paused for a second and delivered.
“No, that day sucked,” he said. “And, especially, as it was an 11 a.m. game. When you lose and get upset, and it’s the 11 a.m. game, there ain’t a whole lot to do, but sit in the misery. So, that was a bad day. Really thought we didn’t do well offensively that day. And didn’t really give them enough problems in what we did. And then they made some great plays. Mark Stoops (Kentucky coach) took some risks.”
No. 10 LSU (4-1, 1-1 SEC) is a 10.5-point favorite to win at No. 25 Kentucky (4-1, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN). And Kiffin again has the No. 1 portal class in the country.
“That’s the sport we play in,” Kiffin said. “These games go down to the wire, and sometimes they go your way. And sometimes they don’t. That was a bad day.”
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