A Lane Kiffin press conference usually features one or two fun, interesting and/or controversial quotes, which makes our jobs a lot easier.
One of the interesting things Kiffin said at his Monday press conference was in reference the criteria the College Football Playoff committee would be using to make its selections.
“I don’t think there should be any automatic (bids) at all,” Kiffin said. “You figure out who the best team is and if you can’t figure it out, ask Vegas. They know.”
The house always wins for a reason. Last week the Rebels were 14.5-point favorites against South Carolina and won by 16. Sure, upsets happen but more times than not, the sportsbooks are right.
“I’ve said it before, who would they make (the favorite) if it’s these two teams are on a neutral site and ask Vegas what the spread would be. That would be who’s considered the better team.”
Good news for Ole Miss, the sportsbooks consider the Rebels the better team in each of their remaining three games.
That’s good news for the Rebels’ playoff aspirations.
Ole Miss is favored in each of its remaining three games, all by 10 or more points (odds from FanDuel Sportsbook):
- The Citadel: 54.5
- Florida: 11.5
- Mississippi State: 10.5
Tuesday’s initial playoff rankings confirmed what everyone already knew. If Ole Miss wins the rest of its games, it’s in the playoff.
Ole Miss was ranked No. 6 overall by the CFP committee and based on one-loss SEC teams being ranked ahead of one-loss Big Ten teams and undefeated BYU, a loss in the SEC championship game won’t be a playoff eliminator.
It does still provide some potential troubles, though.
“There’s some concerns that you’ve got to play an extra game and then you’ve got the playoffs after that,” Kiffin said. “Then you look at a team that played and lost their quarterback. So, there’s a lot to that. It’d be exciting to be in as well, but there’s issues with that also.”
First things, first though. Ole Miss has to handle its business in the final month of the season, starting with The Citadel this Saturday at 11 a.m.
