This Week in Our Dumb, Beautiful Sport: Lane Kiffin Drama, College Football Playoff Logjam, and Rivalry Week Chaos Await

By Ryan Ginn on November 24, 2025 at 9:05 am
Mississippi Rebels running back Kewan Lacy (5) and head coach Lane Kiffin react after defeating the Florida Gators
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
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Welcome to This Week in Our Dumb Beautiful Sport, a weekly look at the chaos that reigns over the most perfectly imperfect world of college football.

A (relatively) quiet day on Saturday means we're set for a wild end to the season. Buckle up. 

TOP TEAMS SET FOR BIG WEEK

It was a relatively chaos-free week at the top of the CFP rankings on Saturday, with nobody in the top 15 losing. Ohio State dispatched Rutgers, Oregon put USC out of its misery, Oklahoma stifled Missouri, Utah rallied to beat Kansas State, and most of the SEC beat schools who shouldn't have football programs. 

As a result, we've got a big weekend on tap with plenty left to sort out. Here's a look at some of the biggest games (rankings are from AP Top 25 because CFP rankings haven't been updated):

No. 1 Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan: I think this one goes without saying. It's time for war. 

No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 16 Texas: That sound you hear is all of College Station telling themselves quite loudly that they're not worried even a little bit about Arch Manning coming off a six-touchdown performance. 

No. 4 Georgia at No. 23 Georgia Tech: Can Georgia Tech atone for blowing it last year?

No. 5 Oregon at Washington: Oregon probably clinched a playoff spot by beating USC on Saturday, but Washington could absolutely make them sweat out a selection with a loss, or at least give them a tougher path. 

No. 6 Ole Miss at Mississippi State: We didn't even have to wait for the actual game this year for something incredibly stupid to happen. More on that in a bit. 

No. 10 Alabama at Auburn: I don't think anything would be funnier than Alabama being left out of the College Football Playoff two years in a row. 

No. 12 Vanderbilt at No. 18 Tennessee: Tennessee's chance to make sure if they can't make the playoff, their in-state nerd brother can't either. 

EVERYONE IN THE LANE KIFFIN SAGA HAS LOST THEIR MINDS

Let this sink in: the coach of the No. 6 team in the country is widely believed to be more likely than not to leave for another job even if doing so means not coaching his current team in the College Football Playoff. That is, in a word, insane. It would be one thing if it were the coach of a Group of Five team like Tulane's Jon Sumrall or James Madison's Bob Chesney who left for another job despite making the playoff. Those teams are never winning a national championship, and leaving for a Big Ten or SEC job would be a significant upgrade for the long-term course of their career. But even that type of move hasn't happened yet -- Luke Fickell isn't the coach of Notre Dame, for example, because that opening happened with the Bearcats in the CFP. 

And yet, this isn't comparable to that. Kiffin is reportedly considering leaving Ole Miss for Florida or LSU... two teams in the same conference who Kiffin and Ole Miss beat this season. Ole Miss would be extremely within its rights to not let him coach the playoff -- in fact, I think they wouldn't have a choice but to immediately evict someone leaving for a conference opponent. It's possible he could be slightly better positioned at LSU or Florida, but he already has a nationally competitive program. Ole Miss is not James Madison. The Rebels smashed Tulane 45-10 and also beat Oklahoma 34-26 in Norman. Their only loss is at Georgia, and Ole Miss led 35-26 in the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs rallied to win. Are you sure you're going to instantly be able to get LSU or Florida to that level? 

As for LSU and Florida, I have no idea what they could possibly be thinking. Kiffin wins more than he loses, but so do other coaches. Hiring someone who is willing to leave his team with a national championship on the line is the biggest cry for help I've ever seen. Kiffin makes no secret of the fact that he only cares about one thing: Lane Kiffin. Let's recap:

  • He left Tennessee for USC after one season, causing an on-campus riot.
  • He turned Pete Carroll's USC into a smoking crater, alienating everyone to the point he was famously fired on the LAX tarmac.
  • Nick Saban hired him as Alabama's offensive coordinator, and Kiffin repaid him by becoming enough of a distraction in his third season that Saban fired him in between the CFP semifinal and national championship. The most successful college football coach of all time decided he would rather have no offensive coordinator for the national championship game than have it be Lane Kiffin. 
  • After a three-year stint at Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss gave him the return to the SEC that he craved. He extracted contract extensions out of them after each of his first two seasons. In 2022, Ole Miss was 8-1 when Auburn fired Bryan Harsin. Kiffin spent the rest of the season flirting with Auburn and tanked the Rebels' season in the process. They did not win again, finishing 8-5. By his own admission, he was leaning towards taking the job until his family intervened and he has said chasing that job played a role in the downfall of that season.
  • Now, three years later, Ole Miss is ranked No. 6 and a virtual lock to make the playoff. With no dominant teams this year, they at least have a puncher's chance of winning it all. It's unquestionably the greatest Ole Miss season since the 1960s, and nobody in Oxford has been able to enjoy it because their coach is conducting an SEC version of LeBron's 2010 free agency in the middle of the season. 

If he does leave Ole Miss, he is going to spend the next couple years focusing on one thing: destabilizing Alabama by making heart eyes at their fans and boosters so he can replace Kalen DeBoer. None of this is to say that he won't win wherever he goes next. He's turned Ole Miss into a playoff contender. Les Miles and Ed Orgeron won national championships at LSU, so it doesn't take a super genius.  But the simple fact is that locking in to the degree required to win an SEC or national championship would be a departure from anything he's ever done. At no point in his career has he shown he's serious about anything other than making headlines or chasing contract extensions and bigger jobs. It has come at the expense of every place he has ever worked, and when his next stop ends in the exact same way whoever hires him will have only themselves to blame.  

CATCHING UP ON THE SEC'S EXCITING DAY

In honor of Ramzy's favorite week of the year, here are the scores from all the non-conference games in the SEC on Saturday:

  • No. 3 Texas A&M 48, Samford 0
  • No. 4 Georgia 35, Charlotte 3
  • No. 10 Alabama 56, Eastern Illinois 0
  • Auburn 62, Mercer 17
  • South Carolina 51, Coastal Carolina 7
  • LSU 13, Western Kentucky 10

NOTRE DAME LEADS 21-0 BEFORE RUNNING A PLAY

Well, that could have gone better for Syracuse. The Orange ran into a bad combo on Saturday -- they're starting a walk-on true freshman lacrosse player at quarterback, and they faced a Notre Dame team who knows it has to run up the score to compensate for a resume that includes zero quality wins. The result was a 70-7 win for the Irish that included a 21-0 lead before its offense set foot on the field thanks two two interceptions and a blocked punt, all of which were returned for touchdowns. 

It's great that they can hang 70 a three-win team. They still haven't shown they can beat a playoff caliber team, and scoring 100 on Saturday still wouldn't have changed the fact that their best win (USC) took another big hit. But I will give them credit, because it's absolutely going to work and they're going to get in the field over another two loss team who actually beat them. And if you really want to feel sick, go look at their future schedules and try to imagine them ever losing three games in a season against that army of 6-6 teams. 

TWO UAB PLAYERS STABBED BY TEAMMATE

In one of the most tragic and bizarre stories of the season, UAB redshirt freshman offensive lineman Daniel Mincey was arrested on Saturday after allegedly stabbing two teammates at the team's football facility just hours before the Blazers' game against USF. The names of the victims have not yet been released. 

"We’re grateful to report that two players injured in an incident this morning at the Football Operations Building are in stable condition," UAB said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with them and their families as they recover. The suspect – another player – remains in custody and an investigation is taking place."

The incident occurred roughly four hours before kickoff. UAB interim coach Alex Mortensen said the team voted to play the game in order to honor the team's seniors. UAB lost 48-18 to South Florida. 

“The team as a whole decided they wanted to play today, but we did have several players who understandably chose to sit out, and we certainly respect that decision,” Mortensen said. “More than anything, I’m grateful that those two players are in stable condition, and we will make sure that they have the support that they need."

FLORIDA STATE... WHAT ARE YOU DOING

This is some real witch doctor stuff. 

Trailing 14-11 with four minutes left, the Florida State defense forced a punt that should have given the Noles offense a chance to tie or take the lead. Instead, in one of the most ridiculous sequences you could imagine, the punt landed on the helmet of an unsuspecting FSU player who was trying to clear out of the area, ricocheted nearly 30 yards backwards, and was recovered by the North Carolina State punter who risked life and limb to dive on the ball. 

Undeterred, the Florida State defense forced another stop... and Florida State special teams muffed a second consecutive punt. 

The Florida State defense then forced a third consecutive fourth down... but North Carolina State decided against attempting a field goal that would have only stretched the lead to 6 and instead went for it and scored a touchdown to put the game fully out of reach.

ANDREW LUCK IS ALL OF US

Just another reason college football is the best -- watching Andrew Luck stop a sideline interview mid-play to celebrate a fumble return for a touchdown the exact same way you would watching your team. 

LUKE FICKELL WINS AGAIN

Credit to Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh, who somehow managed to have the tough decision to retain Luke Fickell not immediately blow up in his face. The Badgers were in a difficult situation, with Fickell looking like a dead man walking and an already crowded group of top programs they'd have to compete with on the coaching carousel. 

Facing a large buyout and tough hiring circumstances, Wisconsin announced Fickell would be back in 2026. In the three weeks since, he has rewarded them with a pair of wins against ranked teams. This one had to be especially satisfying, as Wisconsin handed a stinging 27-10 defeat to No. 21 Illinois and former Badgers coach Bret Bielema, whose once-promising season is instead going to end with the Illini unranked. 

2025 LSU SUMMED UP IN ONE VIDEO

Here's the perfect summation of the train wreck that is 2025 LSU football. With less than two minutes to go in the Tigers' game against Western Kentucky, the broadcast showed footage from the Senior Day pregame ceremony in which Brian Kelly's son Kenzel Kelly wore an undershirt with BK written on it and looked into the camera and said "Free my boy! Free my boy BK!" (Brian Kelly did not attend, presumably because he has sued LSU for not paying his buyout.) 

As this segment was wrapping up, former 5-star running back Harlem Berry fumbled and Western Kentucky returned it 71 yards for a touchdown to make the score 13-10. 

COACHING CAROUSEL UPDATES

Here's the latest on the college football's hirings and firings:

  • Virginia Tech officially hired James Franklin. While he certainly has his flaws, I still maintain there's a better chance than not that Penn State ends up with someone worse.
  • Cal fired Justin Wilcox after the Golden Bears lost to Stanford. Former Hawaii and Washington State coach Nick Rolovich will be the interim coach for the regular season finale and bowl game. 
  • Florida State is retaining Mike Norvell, a decision that I assume will have roughly a 1 percent approval rating in Tallahassee. But it turns out $59 million is a lot of money!

PLAY OF THE WEEK

This has to be up there for play of the year. Benedict College was down to its final play in the first round of the Division II playoffs when it pulled off this miracle to stun Wingate. The cross-field lateral capped off a wild comeback from a 24-0 deficit and gave Benedict its first playoff win in program history. 

I can't get over the presence of mind of the original receiver to pump fake and keep running before delivering a strike to the opposite sideline that hit his teammate in stride. That move drew in the Wingate defensive back just enough to get burned when the throw actually did happen. Imagine losing like this. I'd never get over it. 

IDIOT OF THE WEEK

Whoever called this fake field goal. 

REF JAIL INMATE OF THE WEEK

All you need to know about the performance of the officiating crew in Virginia Tech-Miami is that the Miami player who recovered a game-clinching fumble said afterwards, "I mean, I was kind of nervous about it (being upheld)" because of what had happened earlier in the game. Two of the highlights: 

Virginia Tech converted a third down on a pass thrown while quarterback Kyren Drones was being hit, but an accidental whistle led to the down being replayed. Miami sacked Drones on the replayed third down and forced a punt. 

Earlier in the game, Virginia Tech got three attempts on a fourth-down play. Miami called timeout as the first one was snapped. The Hurricanes then stopped the Hokies, but the play didn't count because right before the snap the referees apparently decided to review the third down play. (It's unclear why they didn't do this before or during the timeout Miami called.) That play, which wasn't an official play, also included a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. On the third try at running a play that counted the Hokies ended up converting the fourth down. 

NO CONTEXT SCORES OF THE WEEK

Here are some scores that caught my eye for any number of reasons – randomness, outcome, unique matchup – that shall remain unknown:

BYU 26, Cincinnati 14
Vanderbilt 45, Kentucky 17
TCU 17, Houston 14
Ohio 42, UMass 14
Northwestern 38, Minnesota 35
Tulsa 26, Army 25
Iowa 20, Michigan State 17

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