How Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss football could hurt CFP ranking

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OXFORD — All eyes on are Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin‘s potential decision to leave for LSU or Florida.

Count College Football Playoff selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek and his team among those paying attention as they construct the final CFP bracket on Dec. 7.

The Rebels (10-1, 6-1 SEC) are No. 7 in the latest rankings released Nov. 25. Yurachek said in an interview with ESPN after the rankings were released that Kiffin departing for a new job would be considered in the final CFP poll.

“We’ll take care of that when it happens,” Yurachek said. “We don’t look ahead. The loss of a player, the loss of a key coach is in the principles of how we rank the teams. But again, we don’t have a data point for Ole Miss without their head coach.”

Ole Miss is set to play at Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6) in the Egg Bowl on Nov. 28 (11 a.m., ABC). An announcement on Kiffin’s future is expected the day after the game, per Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter.

Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten) jumped Ole Miss for the No. 6 ranking. Right now Ole Miss is positioned to host No. 10 Alabama in the first round.

“We didn’t have any discussion about Ole Miss and their coach,” Yurachek said. “That was all about Oregon and their performance against USC. Strength of schedule continues to climb. They have been dominant on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Really good ins special teams.”

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU, Florida could hurt CFP ranking

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