Lane Kiffin warns his team about College Football Playoff noise after win over Oklahoma

Following No. 8 Ole Miss‘ win over No. 13 Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon, the College Football Playoff talk is heating up in earnest. Coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t want his Rebels thinking about it at all.

Courtesy of a soft second half schedule, Ole Miss now looks like a strong favorite to make the playoff. But Kiffin isn’t going to let his time spend too much time thinking about that just yet. It’s counterproductive, he said.

“I don’t talk to them about playoffs, none of that stuff, it’s just not my philosophy,” Lane Kiffin said, according to The Rebel Walk. “I did when I was younger, but none of that matters. What matters is getting better in individual moments.”

Ole Miss has gotten itself into playoff contention by jumping out to a 7-1 start to the season. The team’s lone loss came against Georgia last week in a shootout, a loss that will hardly cost the Rebels much in the big picture.

If anything, that loss simply shrank the margin for error the Rebels had. And that’s why Saturday’s game at Oklahoma was so big. It was the last remaining game on the schedule against a ranked team.

The rest of the road for the Rebels — as Lane Kiffin pointed out — is much more navigable. The next three games are at home.

The only trip away from home will still be inside the state, as the annual Egg Bowl contest is at Mississippi State this season. Take care of business in all four of those games and Ole Miss will be a playoff team. It might even qualify for the SEC Championship Game, though that one would depend on other teams tripping up.

In any case, it’s clear Ole Miss is a potential playoff team. It’s also clear Kiffin wants all eyes on the next game up, not looking ahead.

Lane Kiffin earns automatic contract extension

Lane Kiffin will enjoy Saturday’s Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma in more ways than one. Not only did he beat a ranked team on the road for the first time but a nice contract extension is heading his way. According to Steve Berkowitz of the USA TODAY, getting to seven wins on the year automatically earned Kiffin another year.

“Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin now set for automatic 1-year contract extension as Rebels get 7th win of season by beating Oklahoma,” Berkowitz said via X. “As of Dec. 8, Kiffin’s deal with Ole Miss Athletic Foundation will be set to run through 12/31/2031. Added year currently set to be worth $9 million, with $7.2 million guaranteed. Kiffin also has $150,000 bonus this season.”

On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this report.