It's Lane Kiffin week as Florida football gears to face Ole Miss and coach UF fans covet

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Welcome to Lane week.

With Florida football facing No. 7 Ole Miss on Nov. 15 at Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. (7 p.m., ESPN), the focus is not so much on the Florida Gators, but the coach that UF fans seem to covet most.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has emerged as one of the top candidates to become the next Florida football coach, but whether he ends up in Lanesville, or should we say Gainesville, remains to be seen.

Kiffin has Ole Miss (9-1, 5-1 SEC) on the verge of a College Football Playoff appearance, provided the Rebels close the season strong. Florida (3-6, 2-4 SEC) could play the role of spoiler, like it did last year when it upset Ole Miss 24-17 at The Swamp.

"He does a great job," Florida interim coach Billy Gonzales said. "Does a fantastic job, obviously. He's been an NFL head coach, he's been a college head coach at multiple stops ….

"They're an explosive offense, 54.8% of their drives end in a score, which is top 10 nationally. Thirteenth highest rate of explosive (pass) plays in the country, 77.4%. They do a good job keeping the pocket clean, they're top five in the country from that standpoint."

Asked if Kiffin would be a good fit at Florida, Gonzales responded: "I probably shouldn't even answer those questions to be honest with you. I think he's a really good football coach. He's a really good football coach. There's a lot of really good football coaches. He is definitely one of them."

Gonzales said he's aware of the buzz surrounding Kiffin as a Florida coaching candidate but wants to keep the focus inward as the Gators are coming off a disappointing 38-7 loss at Kentucky. Florida needs to win three straight games to close the regular season to avoid failing to reach a bowl for the second time in three seasons.

"We got a chance to finish with a winning season," Gonzales said. "I think that's one thing that people forget is outside the building, we have a chance to control that. We control our own destiny. So, we can't afford to change the course. We've got to continue to stay the course. Coaching staff, we got to continue to stay the course and not change either and help our players be successful."

Florida players also plan to avoid the Lane hype this week as well.

“I'm on the internet," Florida cornerback Devin Moore said. "I see it here and there, but I don't really pay much attention to it. I’m really just focused on getting better each day and trying to win games.”

Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football facing Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin, a candidate to become UF's next coach

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