College football insider reveals how Lane Kiffin move to LSU could flip playoff race

Lane Kiffin built Ole Miss into a College Football Playoff contender and then walked out on them. How will that affect the Rebels' national championship hopes?

Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss could have an impact on the team's College Football Placement, an insider has revealed. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

College football’s most consequential coaching decision has finally been made after Lane Kiffin announced his departure from Ole Miss to take the same position at LSU.

And at quite a time, too. In the days before Ole Miss is set to earn its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff, the coach who helped bring it there won’t be on the sideline, and now there’s genuine concern it could affect their positioning.

Especially since Ole Miss denied Kiffin’s request to continue coaching the team through the postseason, a decision that was expected.

ESPN college football insider Heather Dinich outlined the realistic possibilities that await Ole Miss after Lane Kiffin left the program, and it turns out they could be affected.

Could Ole Miss move?

Members of the committee have the power and the precedent to change how they rank Ole Miss as a result of its coaching change, and many insiders believe they will.

“They are a CFP contender and I expect them to stay that way, but if Ole Miss has a [new] head coach heading into the playoff, that gives the selection committee the liberty to consider that when doing their final ranking on selection day,” Dinich said. 

She added: “The selection committee says that the committee can consider the availability of key players and coaches and how that might impact the team’s postseason.”

This has happened before

Lane Kiffin wouldn’t be the first single person to influence how the playoff selectors consider a team’s placement.

Just two years ago, the committee dropped undefeated ACC champion Florida State out of the playoff after an injury to quarterback Jordan Travis in favor of one-loss SEC champion Alabama.

Granted, that was a decision made during the four-team playoff era, and the expansion of the field to 12 teams offers the committee more room to work with.

Moreover, it was a choice that aroused tremendous controversy, which the committee would like to avoid attracting again, limiting the possibility that the Rebels would be “punished” too dearly as a result of Kiffin’s exit.

What will happen?

Ole Miss slipped one spot from No. 6 to No. 7 in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings during its idle week, jumped by Oregon following its big win against USC.

If anything, there’s a scenario where the Rebels, which dominated rival Mississippi State on Black Friday to finish the season 11-1, may see their position improve after then-undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M lost its first game of the season against Texas last weekend.

And the Rebels do have some credible coaching continuity to point to, after the school named defensive coordinator Pete Golding as the permanent head coach, not just the interim. 

By doing so, the school clearly meant to send a signal to the committee that the regime responsible for putting the team in playoff contention is still intact.

Still, the emerging consensus is that Ole Miss could lose a spot or two in the rankings after Kiffin’s departure, but not enough to cost them a place in the field.

“They’re certainly not going to drop Ole Miss out of the College Football Playoff, but if they don’t think they’re as good of a team with a [new] head coach on the sideline, they can consider dropping them a spot or two. Most likely, I would say they will host a first round home game,” Dinich said.

When will we know? Members of the selection committee will give us their first hint when they release the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night.