Expect Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin to step onto the coaching carousel soon

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News flash. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has a contract, says he’s happy in Oxford but won’t shut down the rumors of his imminent exit, even though family members have been flown to both Florida and LSU, where there are coaching vacancies. He’d be the first coach to leave with his team on the precipice of a College Football Playoff berth. Might as well call him Benedict Kiffin if he goes. The only similar situation was years ago when coach Luke Fickel of Cincinnati had opportunities to leave but stayed to coach the undefeated Bearcats in the CFP. The choice tells a lot about a person.

Although it was a basketball decision, the most significant and inspiring position ever taken regarding a coach’s allegiance was in 1989 when Michigan men's basketball coach Bill Frieder’s team had qualified for the NCAA tournament and he told athletic director Bo Schembechler he would be leaving Michigan for Arizona State, effective at the end of the season. Bo fired him on the spot. “A Michigan man will coach Michigan,” he declared. Assistant coach Steve Fischer, who never went to Michigan, was elevated and ran the table to the national championship. Justice prevailed. That classic story resonates to this day and is a policy ignored by so many! Ole Miss administrators, who are being used and abused, should take the lead and give Kiffin an ultimatum — stay long term or leave now. Ole Miss is more important than one person. Fuhgeddaboudit. 

Virginia Tech hired James Franklin as its coach and he will instantly improve the Hokies' reputation and their results on the field. Franklin can recruit, and coaches with passion and purpose. Expect him to get the Hokies to a competitive level quickly. The other development is that Franklin settled his $49 million buyout at Penn State for just $9 million. That’s because Franklin recognized his failures at PSU in big games and was willing to negotiate. That’s called character. Of course, he signed a new five-year deal with Tech for about $50 million, which would have been offset against the buyout, so he still made more money in the end, since he wanted to coach. Contrast that with Brian Kelly, who wants all he is owed and sued the school. By the way, Blacksburg is a great place to see a game.  

CFP rankings look skewed, again

A quick look at the CFP rankings reveals again so much SEC bias and Big Ten affluence and influence. No. 20 Tennessee is ranked and hasn’t defeated a winning team. Ditto for No. 22 Missouri. SMU defeated Miami and several other teams with winning records but there’s no love for them. The Committee is proving once again that the only thing that matters is wins and losses, which gives teams incentives to not schedule competitive games (see Mississippi). If losses to quality teams are not minimized, teams will schedule Football Championship Subdivision and non-Power Four schools rather than risk their ranking.

Prime time isn't like old times

Deion Sanders says he’s still the right man for the job but his Colorado Buffs are now 3-7. The “buzz” is gone in Boulder and the program’s revival may be short-lived. Another year of embarrassing losses could end the Sanders era at Colorado. Sanders' claim in his first year of “you better get us early” has proven to be inaccurate in this, his third year. Sanders’ schtick, although very entertaining, got old fast.sd

Here and there

Did you see where the Big Ten's $2.4 billion capital plan, which involved the California pensions system as an investor, is now on pause after Michigan and USC expressed concerns about it? Ya think? Does anybody follow what kind of deficit California is running yearly? While we recognize the California pensions system is a separate entity and not affiliated, this is a groundbreaking idea and, although creative, why take this gamble instead of the sure thing through normal revenue streams? Greed, of course. It's always the driving force, and here, it could backfire.

∎Finally, Virginia and N.C. State announced they will play their game next year in Brazil, which begs the question, why?  Is there some motivating factor to play a game thousands of miles away, to which few devoted fans can afford to attend, and when the schools are a mere 240 miles apart? Are we trying to grow the college game now and compete with the NFL? No, it comes back to the same three reasons — money, money and money.

My Top 25 picks

No. 15 USC at No. 7 Oregon (-11):  Lincoln Riley vs. Dan Lanning. This one has big implications. USC, with two losses, has only one victory over a ranked team (Michigan) while the Ducks lost at home to Indiana (30-20) and barely defeated Iowa (18-16). Although this game is being played at Autzen Stadium, which gives the Ducks a huge advantage, it’s being played at 12:30 in the afternoon instead of at night, when the atmosphere is much more intimidating. Both teams are loaded on offense but the Trojan defense is less than stellar. It's going to come down to whether USC can pressure Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and who wins the turnover battle.  Moore has been sacked 10 times this year but six times in the Indiana game. This game is essentially a de facto elimination game. The loser is out of CFP consideration and for that reason alone, it’s must-watch football. We’ll be heading to Eugene to see it live. Expect a close contest with both teams having opportunities, so take the points, even though the Ducks will prevail in a squeaker.

No. 22 Missouri at No. 8 Oklahoma (-10): The Sooners' defense is as good as it gets, not because they are dominating but they make plays at the most opportune times. Their quarterback, John Mateer, also does not turn the ball over and you have to play well to defeat them. Missouri should not be ranked this high but it won't matter as the Sooners contain the Tigers and win going away.

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Is Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin the next to depart?

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