It’s bound to be a very interesting college football season. Jim Harbaugh left Michigan. Alabama is rebuilding. The Pac-12 is no more. The College Football Playoff has expanded.
These shifts have created a college football season that feels like uncharted territory in some ways. However, it also brings with it a whole new sense of expectations.
For instance, a school like the Ole Miss Rebels has a road to the national championship, something they haven’t been in the conversation about since the 1960s.
However, ESPN’s Paul Fineabum says if the Rebels don’t live up to expectations you can blame head coach Lane Kiffin.
“It’ll be a failure,” said Finebaum. “This is what he (Kiffin) has been building towards, this is what he has been talking about. A couple of years ago, things did not look great from an NIL standpoint. He was able to reverse that. He aced the portal — everyone knows what he got this year. He’s got one of the more experienced quarterbacks in the league and around the country.”
The Rebels fell just short of making the playoffs last season, finishing with an 11-2 record. Now with the new format and SEC expansion, where they don’t have to face the likes of Alabama every year until the SEC Championship Game, this is a golden opportunity for the Rebels to make the playoffs.
“So I’m not sugar coating it — it would be a complete and total failure if Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss don’t make the playoffs,” added Finebaum.
You heard the man, Lane.
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.