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Ole Miss

Paul Finebaum questions Lane Kiffin: 'If he can't win with these guys, who can he win with?'

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax11/24/24BarkleyTruax
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Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (Photo credit: USA Today Images)

Ole Miss‘ playoff chances have dwindled following the 24-17 loss to Florida in the Swamp on Saturday. It marked the Rebels third defeat of the season.

SEC analyst Paul Finebaum voiced his opinion on Ole Miss after the loss, and questioned whether head coach Lane Kiffin can have maintained success in Oxford after not being able to get over the hump with arguably his best roster to date.

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“Unfortunately, Ole Miss found the hot team and just simply looked like they did against Kentucky about two months ago,” Finebaum told Matt Barrie on Sunday morning. “I feel bad because we sat here two weeks ago praising Lane Kiffin for finally winning the biggest game of his career. And now, he has lost the biggest game of his career. [It] clearly knocked them out of the playoffs.

“I mean, it came down to the final couple of seconds — so it wasn’t like they only scored three points and got rolled over. I know we’ll get to that game in a few minutes, but I don’t see them coming back. The real unfortunate thing is, this is the best Ole Miss team in 60 years. It was Lane Kiffin’s best shot, and if he can’t win with these guys, who can he win with?”

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Once the season is over, star quarterback Jaxson Dart will be off to the NFL Draft. Offensive standouts Tre Harris (a 1,000-yard receiver in 2024) and leading rusher Henry Parrish are both finishing up their fifth seasons of college football as well.

It’s not easy to replace those staples of Ole Miss’ offense, but Kiffin has proven that he can make magic in the NCAA transfer portal. After all, Dart, Harris and Parrish all committed to the Rebels out of the portal at one time.

Still, the season isn’t over for the Rebels. Enough chaos occured throughout the SEC to have Ole Miss be slotted as the second team out of the playoff in ESPN CFP analyst Heather Dinich’s updated predictions ahead of Tuesdays rankings, which was revealed on SportsCenter on Sunday morning.

They can help their case with a victory over the ailing Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Egg Bowl on Friday afternoon.