College football is often likened to a beauty pageant, where perception sometimes outweighs performance. In the heated debate surrounding the penultimate playoff rankings before the conference championship games, ESPN’s Stanford Steve has decided to step off the stage entirely, surrendering to what he sees as a flawed system that favors legacy programs over merit. And for Ole Miss and their head man Lane Kiffin, it’s a particularly bitter pill to swallow after getting snubbed behind the side, at 13, with a similar record to theirs with 9-3.

On David Pollack’s podcast on YT, Stanford Steve made his case for why Ole Miss deserved a higher ranking than Alabama, despite their identical records. In the middle of the discussion of the conference championship games, the analyst revealed his sad pick. That didn’t happen. Stanford said, “But I think Ole Miss should be ranked ahead of Alabama. So, what do I know?” He admitted before throwing his hands up in defeat. “But I’ve given up. After seeing the rankings last night… I just don’t understand it.” His sentiment wasn’t just an expression of frustration; it was an indictment of how the playoff committee operates.

Steve’s argument was built with the foundation on Ole Miss’s and coach Kiffin’s stronger wins. They “buried South Carolina at South Carolina’s place,” he pointed out, and their victory over Georgia was more convincing than Alabama’s. The Rebels also suffered narrower losses, including an overtime heartbreak against LSU and a fluky fourth-and-seven disaster at Kentucky, a team that barely scraped together wins this season. “It’s not just about the losses,” Steve added. “It’s who you beat versus who beat you.” David Pollack pushed back, as any good host would, highlighting the inherent complexities of the rankings. DeBoer’s Bama, after all, played a tougher schedule and has more top-25 wins. But Steve wasn’t buying it, pointing out that Ole Miss’s consistency should count on something. “When I watch those teams, I trust Ole Miss more than I trust Alabama,” he explained. And in a year where trust seems to be in short supply, that’s a strong endorsement.

The debate also exposed a deeper issue in college football: the unspoken bias toward marquee programs. Alabama’s rich history and perennial dominance give it an edge in these discussions, regardless of the season’s nuances. As their narrative paints a dark picture of, “Programs with bigger names will always be favored.” It’s a dark reality that leaves smaller schools and less celebrated programs struggling to climb a ladder that seems rigged against them. It’s a debatable topic and the great Fox Sports analyst already informed coach Lane Kiffin and the Rebels of the harsh reality with his take. As the head coach fumes with anger.

Lane Kiffin turns into John Wick and plans on sparing no one

The former QB and Rebels were already shocked when he went after the ACC and the Canes. On a roll, and this time he’s taking his gripes with the CFP committee to new heights—complete with a not-so-subtle jab at the Big 12, Big Ten, and ACC. The Ole Miss coach didn’t mince words when expressing his frustration, firmly planting his flag for the SEC as the gold standard in college football. “Look, this is what fans are going to have to accept in this conference,” Kiffin said via Michael Katz on X. “Teams with multiple losses are inevitable because it’s just different here. Comparing the SEC to other conferences? It’s like comparing the NFL to high school ball.”

Kiffin’s argument boils down to this: the SEC isn’t just another conference; it’s an entirely different league. He wasn’t shy about calling out other conferences like the ACC and Big 12, essentially grouping them into what he feels is a much lower tier of competition. “Here’s the NFL, here’s the SEC, a few Big Ten teams—and then, well, everybody else.”

Adding fuel to the fire, Kiffin’s Rebels are ranked behind teams like Boise State, Indiana, and Miami. Despite boasting a head-to-head win over the Bulldogs.