Lane Kiffin trolls Kirby Smart, officials over clapping controversy after calling first-half timeout

After a week’s worth of controversy over whether Kirby Smart was clapping or called timeout in a game against Auburn, you had to figure Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to troll a little bit. He waited until late in the first half against Georgia to drop the bomb.

Kiffin burned a timeout to ice the kicker just before a final Bulldogs field goal attempt in the half. Then he had words with the official nearby.

The broadcast caught a short snippet of it, with Kiffin seemingly mimicking his timeout signal and pleading with the official. He appeared to say, “I was clapping” before breaking into a sheepish grin.

*Lane Kiffin signals for a timeout*

Lane Kiffin: “I was just clapping. I was just clapping”

😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/vdAHuP3PHo

— Cover 4 GT (@Cover4GT) October 18, 2025

The reference, of course, is to last week’s game between Auburn and Georgia when a highly controversial sequence drew intense scrutiny. So what happened exactly that led to the Lane Kiffin troll job?

Well, with the play clock winding down on his offense, Kirby Smart appeared to signal timeout. As officials halted play, though, he then changed his tack and appeared to argue with officials that he had simply been clapping, mimicking what Auburn’s defense was doing to simulate the snap count and try to get his guys to jump offsides.

As things played out, Georgia was essentially awarded a free timeout in the confusion. Officials reset the play clock and Georgia was not charged a timeout. Smart was adamant the entire time that he had been telling officials Auburn was clapping.

But the sequence was controversial because he certainly seemed to have signaled for timeout. In any case, Lane Kiffin wasn’t about to miss his chance to get some ribbing in.

Ole Miss led 21-20 at the break. Notably, Georgia did not miss the field goal after Kiffin iced the kicker… and claimed he was clapping.

The second half figures to be a good one, so tune into ABC. Both teams have a ton on the line.