Nobody is certain how the CFP committee will assess teams for a seat in the 12-team format during this time of transition. The SEC is now more competitive and deep than it has been in years, which coincides with the new format. There are six teams that have a legitimate claim to a spot. But not everyone will be in, and it’s highly likely that a program that deserves to be included will be left out. See, with  8-2, Lane Kiffin’s playoff picture is in smoke. The head coach, supported by the CFP community, believes this is ridiculous.

The Rebels currently cannot afford to lose. Even if they go to the championship game. Recently, however, Kiffin weighed the pros and cons of playing in the SEC championship game and said that some other head coaches in the conference aren’t even considering it. “I’ve talked to other coaches, so I’ll just kind of give you the feeling from some other coaches. They don’t want to be in it. You know, the reward to get a bye [in the CFP] versus the risk to get knocked out completely. I mean…that’s a really big risk….I think it has ended up being a very unique situation of all postseason sports, the way that system is set up there,” stated the head coach of Ole Miss Rebels. 

These comments have a deeper meaning than just the fact that they didn’t want to play in the SEC championship game. The whole situation is made very evident in the current Chip Patterson video from CBS Sports on November 23rd.

According to Patterson,” I think that what Lane Kiffin was really doing was trying to expose how silly the current College Football Playoff bracketing format is. But initially, I hate it because I think that he would rather win an SEC championship than a national championship. To me, college football’s history is based on winning your league and being the best in your league.”

Patterson then clarified his thoughts on Lane Kiffin’s hidden agenda for the SEC championship game by saying, “And so I don’t love the way it was presented, but I think sneaky Lane Kiffin was really just trying to prove a point about how ridiculous it is that it would it would help you not to make a conference championship game when you should be trying to win every single game in your league.“

 It merely shows that the HC and Co. are dissatisfied with the current CFB setup. The crucial question now is: if they drop one game, will they still be a contender for playoffs? You might get a clear picture from their CFP ranking.

Evaluate the current CFP rankings scenario to determine the likelihood that Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss will be in the SEC conference.

Lane Kiffin’s Rebels’ spot in CFP

In the most recent CFP rankings, which were made public Tuesday night, the Rebels rose to No. 9. After upsetting Georgia on November 9, Ole Miss rose from its No. 16 start in the poll to No. 11. The program, who are presently seeded 10th, will face Indiana, who is ranked 5th or 7th in the CFP bracket.

However, the top-ranked conference champion from each of the other leagues, 7 at-large teams, and the 4 Power Four conference champions will make up the 12 teams that will compete in the enlarged CFP field this season. There will be first-round byes for the top four conference winners. Nevertheless, these rankings are subject to change until December 8th. Therefore, at the end of the season, we’ll see what transpired with the Rebels.