Lane Kiffin respects South Carolina and Shane Beamer, but reminds everybody they beat them down
The final weekend of the college football regular season threw up several shocks, but likely not enough for Ole Miss to sneak into the top 12, even after conference championship weekend results.
After South Carolina's impressive win over No. 12 ranked Clemson, head coach Shane Beamer believes they deserve a spot in the College Football Playoff. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin reminds the nation and the committee that they handed South Carolina a beatdown on their home field.
Lane Kiffin believes head-to-head records are hugely significant
If you are in and around the College Football Playoffs, the head coach will plead their case for why they should be considered. Shane Beamer did that understandably after his team's win over Clemson. However, deep down, he can't expect to be ranked above Ole Miss in the CFP rankings.
Shane Beamer says South Carolina deserves to be in the College Football Playoff:
— Matt Dowell (@MattDowellTV) November 30, 2024
"We got 3 losses, I understand that. But it's hard for me to sit there and say that we're not one of the 12 best teams in the country."
Mentions strength of schedule and road wins@GamecockFB pic.twitter.com/Dw5tkRd1ux
Lane Kiffin explained it plainly during his Sunday media call: The Rebels played South Carolina earlier in the season, winning 27-3 in Columbia. This means the Gamecocks should not jump Ole Miss in the playoff rankings, despite what the AP Poll says.
"I have great respect for South Carolina. South Carolina jumping us? Why do we even play the games? We have the same record in the same conference. We went to their place and ran them out of their place."
- Lane Kiffin
The CFP selection committee ranked Ole Miss ahead of South Carolina in last week's rankings. Beating Clemson was impressive, but the loss to the Rebels was not, scoring just three points and having only 313 offensive yards. Ole Miss also had a win over the No. 7 ranked Georgia, a team that will move up the rankings this week, another win for the Rebels that was not close.
South Carolina has zero wins over a current top-12 team, with its two ranked wins coming against Missouri and Clemson. Both the Rebels and Gamecocks have three losses, but surely the head-to-head will matter when the committee ranks the two teams.
Regardless of what happens in the conference championship games, both will likely not be in the 12-team playoff in 2024. However, Kiffin makes a valid point. If South Carolina is put ahead of Ole Miss, why do they even play the game?
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