Today: Lane Kiffin's exit, SEC carousel madness, unfiltered reaction to Week 14, and CFP + Bowl projections.

~7.5 minute read (1,905 words)

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COACHING CAROUSEL

Recapping a wild Sunday in Oxford and Baton Rouge

Lane Kiffin's move to LSU sent shockwaves through Oxford and Baton Rouge on Sunday, ending a weeks-long saga and triggering immediate fallout for all involved parties. Kiffin is headed to Baton Rouge to replace Brian Kelly, who was fired in October. Two planes scheduled to pick up Kiffin's family in Tupelo were rerouted to Oxford as the news broke. Kiffin finishes his Ole Miss tenure with a 55-19 record and the program's first 11-1 regular season since 1962.

Ole Miss quickly pivoted. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding was elevated to permanent head coach after a brief team meeting that received loud support from players. Golding, who led a top-35 defense this season, steps into the job with the Rebels ranked No. 7 and preparing for their first College Football Playoff appearance. In leaked audio from Sunday's team meeting, athletic director Keith Carter promised the team it would "go on a run" in the postseason and reinforced that the offensive staff intends to stay intact. Golding delivered a fiery message about alignment, loyalty, and finishing what this roster started.

Kiffin wanted to coach Ole Miss in the CFP, but the school declined. In his departing statement, he said he hoped to "complete a historic six season run" but respected Carter's decision. Speaking to ESPN's Marty Smith on the tarmac before leaving for LSU, Kiffin called it "a very challenging, difficult day" and reiterated his desire to finish the playoff run, while acknowledging the pressures Carter faced.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. joined Kiffin on the flight to LSU, and both coaches were met with boos and middle fingers from fans as they boarded the plane. Strength coach Nick Savage and GM Billy Glasscock are expected to follow Kiffin to LSU, while quarterbacks coach Joe Judge is expected to stay in Oxford.

The backlash extended beyond the airport. Talking heads questioned whether the CFP committee would view Ole Miss differently without its head coach and top offensive assistants. Carter shot back on social media, reminding critics the Rebels are 11-1 in the SEC. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek previously acknowledged that staff changes are part of the evaluation process. Oddsmakers in Las Vegas expect Ole Miss to drop between two and four points without Kiffin.

As the dust settles, Golding's challenge is clear. Keep the roster stable, keep the staff intact, and keep the Rebels focused on the postseason. As he told players, the mission is unchanged. The goal is to go 1-0 and chase a championship.

Read the latest on the situation in Oxford.

COACHING CAROUSEL

Elsewhere in the SEC, the carousel kept spinning

If you thought Sunday's chaos was only centered around Lane Kiffin, you would be mistaken. While Kiffin's departure dominated headlines, four other SEC programs made major moves of their own. Kentucky launched a coaching search after parting ways with its longest-tenured leader. Florida turned to one of the nation's fastest-rising coaches. Auburn tapped a proven rebuilder to reset its trajectory. Arkansas landed the quietly persistent frontrunner for its opening. Here is what unfolded across the conference.

🔵 Kentucky

Kentucky is moving on from Mark Stoops after a second straight losing season, ending a transformative 13-year run that took the Wildcats from SEC basement status to sustained relevance. Stoops leaves as the program's all-time winningest coach, delivering eight straight bowl appearances from 2016 to 2023 and two 10-win seasons that reset expectations. But the past two years produced only nine total wins, and Saturday's 41-0 loss to Louisville sealed a 5-7 finish.

According to On3's Chris Low, Stoops made clear he would not step away on his own. However, when Kentucky approached him about a separation, he told school officials he would be willing to negotiate the $38 million buyout so payments could be spread out over several years, rather than paid in full within 60 days. KSR's Matt Jones revealed that the process was pushed forward by voices inside the athletic department and among influential stakeholders.

Reaction from recruits poured in immediately as Kentucky opened its search for a new leader to build on the foundation Stoops leaves.

🐊 Florida

Florida has hired Tulane's Jon Sumrall as its next head coach after shifting away from Lane Kiffin. Sumrall is 19-7 in two seasons at Tulane and 42-11 as an FBS head coach, known for rapid turnarounds at Troy and Tulane. He will coach the Green Wave through the end of their season, as they could make the College Football Playoff if they beat North Texas on Friday.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars GM David Caldwell joins the program in a front-office role, as does Tulane GM and Sumrall's right-hand man Cole Heard. Sumrall is already getting to work building out his on-field staff, too. On3's Pete Nakos has the early names to watch in the Florida OC search.

🦅 Auburn

Auburn has hired USF head coach Alex Golesh after finishing 5-7 and firing Hugh Freeze midseason. Golesh rebuilt USF from 1-11 into a 9-3 program and brings SEC experience from his time with Josh Heupel at Tennessee. He arrives on a six-year deal and has already begun building his first staff, bringing numerous on- and off-the-field staffers with him. Auburn hopes that his player-first approach stabilizes a program coming off five straight losing seasons.

🐗 Arkansas

Arkansas has hired Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield, who quietly remained the frontrunner throughout the search. Silverfield went 50-25 across six seasons, including 29-9 over the past three years, and posted a 4-0 bowl record with wins over four Power Four opponents. He now takes over a Razorbacks program coming off a 2-10 season and a winless SEC campaign, with Arkansas banking on his consistency, offensive structure, and NFL-informed approach to rebuild the roster and culture.

NCAA FOOTBALL

Ari Wasserman's Unfiltered Takes: Lane Kiffin, Ryan Day, the CFP conundrum, and much more

Of course, there was a whole slate of games this past weekend on top of all of that coaching drama. This is a rivalry week no one will soon forget. In case you missed anything, Ari Wasserman's unfiltered takes are back to get you up to speed, while giving you a few takes along the way.

Lane Kiffin's victim complex

The move everyone expected finally happened. Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU, even though it means he cannot coach the Rebels in the College Football Playoff. He can feel anything right now except one thing: he cannot be the victim.

It is admirable that Kiffin fought to coach Ole Miss through the postseason. He built the program, won 11 games for the first time in school history, and took it to the CFP. But after getting everything he wanted at Ole Miss, his goodbye note blaming Keith Carter for not letting him finish the season rubbed the wrong way. When you take the LSU job, you know staying on is not an option. Part of being an adult is making that trade. Kiffin should not have assumed he could have everything on the way out.

Ohio State

It is easy to forget where Ryan Day stood a year ago. He had lost four straight to Michigan. His own fan base had turned on him. National voices questioned his toughness and even dragged his family into conspiracy theories. A lot of coaches would have folded.

Now look at him. After beating Michigan 29-7, Day never took a shot, never gloated, never pushed for flag-planting. He took the high road every step. Winning was enough. After everything he withstood, the way he carried himself was a masterclass in leadership. Hats off to him.

Michigan

Michigan enjoyed four seasons at the top, including a national title, but the pendulum swung back. Fans are understandably frustrated with Sherrone Moore and the offensive struggles, but the gap between Michigan and Ohio State is not insurmountable. With the right additions at receiver and continued development for Bryce Underwood, this can be fixed quickly.

The ACC

The ACC Championship matchup is a product of confusing tiebreakers that opened the door for Duke. There was a moment Saturday night when it felt like commissioner Jim Phillips should step in and change the league's dumb tiebreaker rules. He has a duty to promote the conference's best interests, and those include getting a team into the CFP. Like it or not, the team with the highest likelihood of that is Miami. And it's absolutely absurd that the conference's stupid tiebreaker rules are the reason the Hurricanes could be left out of the CFP altogether.

Texas

Texas is likely missing the CFP because it played Ohio State. That game was optional, and losing it is the difference between being safely in and being on the bubble. The SEC and Texas are going to weaponize this and threaten to schedule bad games moving forward. That's what happened at the end of last year. The Longhorns have an argument, but if we're being honest, they also looked bad for long stretches this season. There are consequences for that.

Vanderbilt

Diego Pavia has the Commodores sitting on 10 wins and firmly in the Heisman conversation, yet Vanderbilt still faces the reality of missing the CFP. Leaving out a 10-win team with a Heisman finalist will be a shock to the system. Buckle up. Next Sunday is going to be bumpy.

Not enough CFP teams

For as crowded as the debate feels, the truth is the 12-team field does not have enough elite teams. The bottom half is a mash of good but not great resumes, and we are left debating which losses are the least embarrassing. The four-team system may have been imperfect, but at least it demanded excellence.

Read all 20 of Wasserman's takes here.

🚨Headlines

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Brett McMurphy's updated College Football Playoff, bowl projections

The bowl picture finally snapped into place. Entering last weekend, the postseason needed seven teams to reach six wins to avoid dipping into the 5-7 pool. Exactly seven made it. That gives us 82 eligible teams for 41 bowls and a full slate without academic tiebreakers.

Now comes the puzzle. The 12-team Playoff reshapes everything, and with Selection Sunday approaching, the postseason board depends heavily on which programs land in Brett McMurphy's bracket. With that field set, the remaining 70 teams slide into the traditional bowls.

Here are McMurphy's latest projections as we enter conference championship week.

College Football Playoffs

McMurphy's current bracket begins with four first-round games hosted on campus. Oregon hosts North Texas as the No. 5 seed. Ole Miss draws Alabama. Oklahoma welcomes Virginia. And Texas A&M hosts Notre Dame in one of the marquee matchups of the opening weekend.

The quarterfinal rotation sends Georgia to the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame. Texas Tech meets Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State faces Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Indiana matches up with Oregon in the Orange Bowl. McMurphy projects Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, and Oregon advancing to the semifinals, with the Buckeyes beating Texas Tech for the national title in Miami.

Bowl projections

Pinstripe Bowl: Pitt vs. Penn State
Gator Bowl: Miami vs. Tennessee
Music City Bowl: LSU vs. Illinois
Sun Bowl: Clemson vs. Arizona State
Citrus Bowl: Texas vs. Michigan
Las Vegas Bowl: Nebraska vs. Utah
Duke's Mayo Bowl: Missouri vs. Louisville

Read McMurphy's full projections.

TRIVIA

Now here's a guy...

Below, you'll find 3 facts about a random college football player. You'll try to guess who the player is based on the facts. Let's go.

I was a four-year letterman at North Carolina under Mack Brown, captained the Tar Heels in 1996 and 1997, and earned first-team All-ACC honors at center in back-to-back seasons.
After going undrafted and getting cut by Baltimore before ever playing a game, I became a cornerstone of Indianapolis for 13 seasons, won Super Bowl XLI, and earned five Pro Bowl and four All-Pro selections.
After retiring and becoming an ESPN analyst, I unexpectedly returned to the sideline in 2022 as the interim head coach of the Colts, steering the team through its final eight games.

Answer at the bottom.

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