Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels were handed the No. 6 spot in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings released last Tuesday, making them one of four SEC teams in the top 10. The highest-ranked SEC team was the Texas A&M Aggies, who were given a No. 3 ranking by the selection committee, trailing fellow undefeated programs Ohio State and Indiana.
Kiffin was recently asked for his thoughts on the first set of College Football Playoff rankings. In his response, the Ole Miss head coach made a strong case for Texas A&M as the nation’s No. 1 team.
“Texas A&M being [No.] 3 — what more do you want them to do to be [No.] 1? People say, ‘We need you to schedule hard teams. You’re going to play nine SEC teams then another hard one.’ Well, they went up to Notre Dame and won. What good did that do if it’s not rewarded?” Kiffin said.
“They have the highest metrics of anybody and they’re not No. 1.”
Mike Elko’s Texas A&M squad is 9-0 through the 2025 college football season so far, fresh off a 38-17 road victory over the No. 22 Missouri Tigers this past weekend. As Kiffin noted, the Aggies’ best win of the year came when they defeated the Fighting Irish with a thrilling 41-40 final score in South Bend on September 13.
Meanwhile, the reigning-champion and No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes are also 9-0 following Saturday’s 34-10 road win over the Purdue Boilermakers. The No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers had a tougher challenge in Week 11 but narrowly secured their 10th win of the season with a 27-24 comeback victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions.
The College Football Playoff selection committee will announce its second set of rankings on Tuesday night. Stay tuned for more updates as the race for the College Football Playoff heats up.
https://www.newsweek.com/sports/ncaa/lane-kiffin-names-college-footballs-no-1-team-without-hesitation-11025710
