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On3 Breakdown: Kiffin rumors, Ole Miss playoff stakes and Egg Bowl weirdness

Ben Garrettby: Ben Garrett6 hours agoSpiritBen

On3 national analysts Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman aren’t buying distractions derailing Ole Miss at rival Mississippi State on Black Friday. 

For nearly two weeks, coaching rumors surrounding Lane Kiffin have swirled around the Rebels. Ole Miss announced last week that it expects to decide Kiffin’s future Saturday. LSU, Florida and others are all after him.

Ole Miss also dropped a spot, to No. 7, in the latest batch of College Football Playoff Rankings. The Rebels are 10-1 (6-1 SEC), while Mississippi State is looking to become bowl eligible at 5-6 (1-6).

“We know Lane Kiffin will be coaching this game because athletic director Keith Carter told us he’d be coaching this game,” Staples said. “Mississippi State is a 7.5-point home underdog. Does all of this Lane Kiffin stuff affect Ole Miss? Because the argument going back two years is that when [Kiffin] was flirting with Auburn it did affect the result of the 2022 Egg Bowl.”

“The other question is, how bad do they have to win it?” Wasserman said. “I think they’re in the playoff either way thanks to the win against Oklahoma, but if they want to make absolutely sure, they just win this game and they’re definitely in the playoff.”

RELATED: Oregon had no business jumping Ole Miss … and Kiffin stuff

Staples and Wasserman on Wednesday both predicted Kiffin would leave Ole Miss for LSU. 

Friday will be the 122nd all-time meeting between the teams and the 98th ‘Battle of the Golden Egg.’ Ole Miss holds a 66-49-6 edge in the series. The Rebels have won four of the last five. The road team has won six of the last 10.

This marks only the seventh time the Egg Bowl will be played on a day other than Thanksgiving.

“Ole Miss, from a talent standpoint, is considerably better here,” Staples said. “I get that Mississippi State will be motivated. I know Jeff Lebby has had them playing tough against teams that had higher talent levels pretty much all year. But I still think Ole Miss gets this done.”

“I’m taking Mississippi State here to cover. I’m not a psychopath,” Wasserman said. “The Egg Bowl’s weird though, always, isn’t it? Even if [the Kiffin stuff] wasn’t happening it’d be a weird game. This is a game that has turned on penalties for someone pretending to pee on the goal post like a dog. Great celebration. I love this rivalry so much. Mississippi State is an OK team. [Ole Miss isn’t] going to play a team that’s a disaster. That’s a nice step in the right direction for Lebby and the boys.”

Staples, Wasserman and fellow On3 national analyst JD PicKell all previewed the Egg Bowl and Kiffin Watch this week. Here’s everything else they said.

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