When you have a team going through the worse coaching change and still making it to the semifinals, and going down in the final seconds just because the refs missed a call, a massive meltdown is only natural.
Ole Miss fans were as furious as they could be for the missed Pass Interference flag on Miami's Ethan O'Connor on De'Zhaun Stribling. Were it not for that, it would have been a touchdown for the Rebs, which would have entirely changed the outcome of the game.
So much so, that even their former head coach, who didn't look back when he was leaving Oxford and boarding the plane to LSU after abandoning his team right before the Playoff, couldn't keep from calling it out.
Lane Kiffin stands up for Ole Miss
Kiffin took to Twitter right after the Fiesta Bowl saying, "Pass interference 100%!!!"
Pass interference 💯!!! https://t.co/99jrGosJ5w
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) January 9, 2026
Were it for Kiffin, there would definitely be a brawl at the State Feild.
Kiffin's tweet was a response to Jon Root's post slamming the ESPN hosts, calling the Hail Mary pass a "mutual contact."
"ESPN’s 'officiating expert' calling this 'mutual contact' is laughable," Root tweeted.
"We have what we call mutual combat. Both players are getting their hands on each other. We’re going to leave that alone 99% of the time. I want to see one of them get a true, true advantage," was what ESPN's rule expert Bill LeMonnier had to say.
In the videos going viral of the Hail Mary, the Miami DL could be clearly seen grabbing Stribling's collar. Clearly, there was a lot of contact. Even Pete Golding attested to it post-game.
What was supposed to be a historical ending to a historical season by the Rebels, ended up being a robbed one.