The rough veneer of CFB insiders is starting to crumble daily, and we’re completely enamored with it. College football’s Week 11 has wrapped up, and all the excitement has died down. But you know what? This year, an SEC coach is causing quite a stir. And it’s not Kalen DeBoer or Kirby Smart. It’s none other than Lane Kiffin and his Ole Miss Rebels who are turning heads and leaving analysts stunned.

In episode 578 of his college football show, which aired on November 11, Josh Pate disclosed Lane Kiffin’s team’s winning prospects for this season, saying, “Actually, what it looks like they’ve done is they’ve rounded into the form of playing their best football. I mean, that they led; they didn’t trail the LSU game for one second but lost the game. And the Kentucky game earlier in the year is just inexcusable. But again, we are talking about a year where a bunch of teams that are going to be there in the end have that kind of game, have that kind of loss on their resume.” Moreover, he added, “So I give Lane Kiffin full credit. I give that staff full credit. Most importantly, you got to give the players full credit because they’ve kind of taken ownership of that team.” 

Not only Josh, but even the Georgia Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart believes that Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss is among the top teams this season. Smart recently praised Texas and Alabama as the most talented teams his squad has faced this season. However, after their matchup with Ole Miss, Smart changed his tune, calling the Rebels the most talented team they’ve encountered. In fact, Ole Miss’s impressive win over Georgia has significantly boosted their playoff hopes. The Rebels have jumped six spots to No. 10 in the AP Top 25, surpassing Georgia, and solidifying their position as a major contender in the SEC.

But Pate said,” They could win it all, but they might also miss the playoffs,” since the team has an 8-2 record this season. Pate sees 8-1 Penn State as a potential playoff team, but he’s not ready to overlook Kiffin’s squad just yet. He even calls Kiffin’s team one of the “dangerous” teams in the country, saying, “Man, if they get in there… that’s the one maybe I’d least like to play. Because that’s the one that’s least predictable.” Whatever transpired, Lane Kiffin’s contribution is truly commendable. Even Paul Fineman said so.

Paul Finebaum on Lane Kiffin’s leadership 

A few months ago, Kiffin was labeled the “Miley Cyrus of college football coaching,” which prevented him from even making Finebaum’s list of favorites. After just one game against Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs, Kiffin apparently found Finebaum guilty of using offensive language toward the Ole Miss HC. The way his lads thrashed Georgia 28-10 on Saturday may have taken Kiffin by surprise as well, deep down.

The Rebels, who were in a game of life or death, have refocused their chances of making the playoffs. Even though the Bulldogs got out to a strong start and took a 7-0 lead after intercepting Kiffin’s signal-caller Jaxson Dart, the Rebels lived true to their name the rest of the game. Even Finebaum was stirred by the Ole Miss performance. The analyst was forced to put down his safety gear and make a significant confession on the Matt Barrie Show, stating, “Matt let me say… I’m as guilty and maybe more guilty than anybody else.”

Then Finebaum added, “The narrative that Lane Kiffin can’t win the big game just gets stuck to him… can never say that again.” The Ole Miss game versus Georgia demonstrated how Kiffin’s plan to fortify the Rebels’ defensive front and offensive line with proven transfers paid dividends. The ESPN analyst also labeled him “an elite football coach” for this reason. That is the complete reverse of what Finebaum had previously believed Kiffin to be.