Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has been active on social media, criticizing the College Football Playoff selection committee after back-to-back blowouts in the first round. (7) Notre Dame handled (10) Indiana 27-17 on Friday night in a game more lopsided than the score indicated, and (6) Penn State, fueled by a pair of pick sixes, hammered (11) SMU 38-10 on Saturday afternoon.
"Really exciting competitive game @CFBPlayoff. Great job!!" Kiffin posted on X (formerly Twitter) after the Hoosiers' loss.
"Way to keep us on the edge of our seats Committee …. Riveting," Kiffin then wrote during the Penn State-SMU game.
Kiffin has been active and vocal about the playoff selection after his Ole Miss squad was left out of the College Football Playoff as the third team out, behind Alabama and Miami. The Rebels had perhaps the most talented roster in the history of the program. But despite starting the season No. 6 in the AP Top 25, they regressed and finished the year with a 5-3 SEC record.
Ole Miss picked up one of the worst losses by a top-25 team this season after losing to Kentucky at home 20-17 in their conference opener. It was the Wildcats' only win against a power-conference team and only the second game UK quarterback Brock Vandagriff cleared 200 yards passing. The other was against Ohio.
The Rebels picked up two more losses during the season: an overtime heartbreaker to LSU, which went 0-3 against all other ranked opponents on the season, and a 24-17 shocker to Florida in the penultimate game of the regular season. The Gators were just 5-5 at the time and fighting for bowl eligibility against a historically difficult slate.
Ole Miss, to its credit, won by three scores over Georgia and South Carolina, but its overall body of work was wildly inconsistent at best. Tennessee and Ohio State were the only at-large CFP selections ahead of Ole Miss that failed to finish the regular season 11-1 heading into conference championship weekend.
For Indiana especially, there's no proposed system that would have kept the Hoosiers out of the College Football Playoff. Indiana finished tied with Penn State in the Big Ten at 11-1 with its only loss coming against Ohio State. The Hoosiers also had a top-three point differential nationally. SMU was on the edge after losing to Clemson on a 56-yard field goal in the ACC Championship Game, but the committee ultimately sided with the Mustangs.
Ole Miss is set to play Iowa in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.