Paul Finebaum: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss 'close to being eliminated from the Playoff' due to disappointing losses, Florida rumors

Paul Finebaum believes Lane Kiffin might be on his way out of Oxford if Ole Miss keeps playing the way it has over the past couple of weeks.

The Rebels seemed destined to break through and make the College Football Playoff in 2024, but losses to Kentucky and LSU have derailed their hype. As Finebaum pointed out, Ole Miss’ troubles began when rumors began to circulate regarding a potential move to Florida for Kiffin after the season, and the SEC Network analyst is far from ruling out the possibility.

“A couple weeks ago, they looked like a cinch in the playoffs, and then when those Florida rumors started, we all said, ‘There’s no way Lane can leave a Playoff team.’ Well, guess what? They’re close to being eliminated from the Playoff,” Finebaum claimed.

“They have Georgia later on. So, that would make Lane available, in case anyone is still interested.”

The ironic thing about Finebaum’s assertion is that Kiffin’s Ole Miss squad losing to multiple teams they’re expected to beat might make him less attractive to the Gators, if they do indeed fire Billy Napier. It’s a tricky situation, and one that’s far from be resolved.

Regardless, the bye week is coming at a perfect time for the Rebels, as Lane Kiffin and company will hope to right their wrongs before getting back on the field on Oct. 26 against Oklahoma in Oxford.

Paul Finebaum explains if Ole Miss still has a path to the College Football Playoff

Alas, the Ole Miss Rebels can still make the College Football Playoff, despite dropping to 5-2 after losing to LSU over the weekend. Paul Finebaum has been adamant Lane Kiffin’s crew is on life support, when it comes to the CFP at least. But there’s still a chance, and Finebaum doesn’t think Ole Miss is eliminated from playoff contention just yet.

“No, because they still have one game left that could help them, and that’s the Georgia game,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic. “But you don’t know really how big that game is going to be if Georgia doesn’t get by Texas. So I think, I mean, they are clearly hanging by a thread. I realize we’ve forgotten Missouri here, but that’s not difficult to do based on how they play recently, but, but I think Ole Miss is really, I mean, they’ve had a pretty disastrous couple of weeks here.” 

“It’s more frustrating than normal because of expectations. That’s really what everything is based on. You guys know that. And this was Lane Kiffin’s best team, the best team at Ole Miss since the 60s … I mean all these things … but back to the Alabama conversation. What do we remember? The result.”

Ole Miss had the game won against LSU and it would certainly look a lot different at 6-1, rather than 5-2, with both losses coming in the SEC. Time will tell if they can right the ship over the next couple of weeks.

On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this article.