Lane Kiffin’s Potential Exit Could Greatly Impact Ole Miss In The College Football Playoff Rankings

STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Ole Miss football team could find itself in a very interesting position when it comes to the college football playoff, if Lane Kiffin decides to leave before the postseason begins. 

After not playing this past week, the CFP committee jumped Oregon ahead of the Rebels in the last rankings released on Tuesday night. One might wonder what this could mean in terms of final seeding once conference title weekend passes. 

First off, for any of this to truly matter, Ole Miss cannot afford to lose on Friday against Mississippi State. If the Rebels were to lay an Egg, no pun intended, this would put the playoff committee in a further bind. 

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Would it drop Ole Miss out of the playoff rankings next week? I mean, it's possible. 

But, there is a bigger question looming for the Rebels, if they were to win in Starkville. 

If Lane Kiffin decides to leave Oxford on Saturday afternoon, which is when AD Keith Carter said to expect a decision, this could open up the door for CFP committee members to drop Ole Miss far enough that it would not host a playoff game in the first round. 

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Yes, I know this seems pretty wild. But, judging by the lack of clarity provided on Tuesday night by CFP chairman Hunter Yurachek on possible scenarios if Kiffin were to leave and not be the head coach for Ole Miss, it's obviously up for discussion around the sport. 

"We'll take care of that when it happens," Yurachek said. "I mean, we don't look ahead. It is the loss of a player; the loss of a key coach is in the principles of how we rank the teams.

"But again, we don't have a data point for Ole Miss without their head coach."

Right, so they don't know how they would see the Rebels if Kiffin weren't on the sidelines leading his team. 

It's clear that the committee was not prepared for this scenario, judging by the amount of time it took to answer the question when first asked. 

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All of this is part of the discussion because of certain metrics the college football playoff uses when ranking teams. But, we all remember what transpired in 2023 when Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis was lost for the postseason after suffering a knee injury in the final regular season game. 

This led to the Seminoles not being selected, and all hell breaking loose in Tallahassee, and rightfully so. 

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So, when Hunter Yurachek was pressed on the question regarding Lane Kiffin, he was further hesitant to provide a clear answer as to how the committee would take that into consideration when ranking Ole Miss. 

"It could be considered by the committee," Yurachek finally said. 

Ok, well, that's a pretty important piece of information, and one that Ole Miss officials have discussed privately behind the scenes. 

So, here we are. Two days before Ole Miss takes the field in Starkville, and we have no idea how the CFP committee would take this all into consideration. 

Sounds like a real delightful time for those within the Rebels athletic department, as we wait on Lane Kiffin to finally make a decision regarding his future at Ole Miss.