The path to the SEC championship game is much more tricky than you believed it to be from the surface. Ask Lane Kiffin, you will get your answer. The Rebels’ head coach is currently facing the dilemma of whether he should hope to get the coveted ‘Bye’ reward that comes with a slew of risks or just play it slow and safe. After considering all the pros and cons of both sides, the Ole Miss coach decided to go with the ‘not playing the SEC Championship game’ scenario rather than risking a costly third loss. Paul Finebaum sees no wrong in it.

The veteran ESPN analyst got the very essence of Kiffin’s valid concern. When asked about whether it’s a good idea for a team with a two-loss like Ole Miss to go to the SEC knockout and let it all blow with a high-potential loss, Paul noted, ”SEC commissioner Greg Sankey told me last week it should be a reward to get to the championship game but the bad news is it is not Kirby Smart last year had an undefeated regular season he went to the championship game lost to Nick Savin and got knocked out of the playoffs so yes it’s what Lane Kiffin said is correct, you’d rather not go there.”

Enough testament to believe Kiffin’s head pain is not just in his head! But the question is: does it seem to have a way to escape the inevitable? Well, the obvious answer is no.

‘‘The problem is some of you don’t have a choice in the matter. It’s going there’s going to be a tiebreaker and you get in based on a number of tiebreakers. but the situation for Kiffin could be very dangerous. Here’s why he doesn’t want to go because if he goes with a 10 and two record and loses, he is probably going to get knocked out because he has a loss to Kentucky, which is extremely bad,” Paul issued the harsh ultimatum.

But Ole Miss, not wanting to get the flower, might be a case of them countering Nick Saban’s rat poison theory.

Lane Kiffin opposed Nick Saban’s recent high-flying comments on Ole Miss

Nick Saban has been the quintessential guy in college football that everyone still looks up to. The phenom left his chair a year back but didn’t lose relevance as he continues to stir up the mix being a prolific football intellectual. His recent comments about the Rebels, however, didn’t sit well with coach Kiffin, who sees an ulterior motive underneath.

ESPN College GameDay at the Georgia vs Tennessee game in Athens, the legendary coach had some lofty words on Ole Miss. While giving Alabama its due credit, the coach phenom that Ole Miss is really doing well. Instead of appreciating it wholeheartedly, Kiffin took it with a grain of salt.

When the Rebels HC was asked his opinion on Nick Saban’s validation, Kiffin quite unexpectedly shot a backfire.  ”He’s now become the rat poisoner. He’s doing exactly what he complained about,” the Rebels coach responded, disowning the given credit.

For those unversed, Rat poison theory is Saban’s brainchild that sits for a technique where the media over-hyped a team and the players to reduce their hunger for further progress in some way or the other. In 2017, during the Bama’s  27-19 win over Texas A&M at Kyle Field, Saban experienced the same and learned to develop a protective mechanism.

Was Kiffin’s latest confession about the SEC title race nothing but a countershot to that infamous rat poison practice? Who knows!