Lane Kiffin trolls Nick Saban in response to Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart picking Matt Corral for Heisman
Lane Kiffin has had his fair share of fun on social media the past week, and the latest joke has come at the expense of his former boss, Alabama head coach Nick Saban, under whom Kiffin served as the offensive coordinator from 2014-2016.
Before the season began, Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler was an overwhelming favorite to win the Heisman Trophy by most oddsmakers, as he was listed at roughly +500 — at the time, Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral was +2500. Nearly four weeks into the season, however, the tides have turned in drastic fashion, with Rattler falling far from the frontrunner conversation, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young reaching closer to the No. 1 spot and Corral being priced as the favorite, with some oddsmakers listing him as low as +200.
Corral through three weeks has been extremely impressive, so much so that national analysts are taking the Ole Miss signal caller as their Heisman Trophy favorite. Today on FOX Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush picked Corral to win the Heisman trophy, to which Lane Kiffin responded with emojis suggesting their picks are “rat poison.”
The rat poison phrase, of course, is a nod of sorts to Saban, who in 2017 famously said, “all that stuff you write about how good we are, all that stuff they hear on ESPN, it’s like poison. It’s like taking poison. … Like rat poison.”
Kiffin has been on a roll all week on Twitter, calling out Corral rat poison as he sees it.
But regardless of whether Kiffin labels it rat poison, there’s plenty fair reason to consider Corral for the Heisman Trophy, even after just three games. Ole Miss is 3-0, and Corral has thrown for 997 yards — holding a completion percentage as high as 68.8 — and has thrown for nine passing touchdowns with no interceptions. Furthermore, Corral has gotten it done on the ground, as he currently ranks as Ole Miss’ third-leading rusher, going for 158 rushing yards on 33 attempts, along with five rushing touchdowns.
Corral and Ole Miss are on a well-deserved bye week right now, after beating Louisville 43-24, Austin Peay 57-14, then Tulane 61-21. Their next test should easily be the greatest of the season, as the Rebels travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Saban and the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in Bryant-Denny Stadium. Should Ole Miss pull off the upset, the Corral-for-Heisman rat poison will only become more commonplace among national college football reporters.