Dick Vitale calls out Lane Kiffin, CFP critics after Indiana, SMU losses

Dick Vitale does not want to hear complaints about who did not make it into the College Football Playoff.

To be blunt, the first-ever 12-team playoff started with a couple of duds. Despite surrendering two cosmetic touchdowns in the final two minutes of the game, Notre Dame had little trouble with Indiana in a 27-17 win in Friday night’s CFP opener. Saturday’s first game was even less competitive, with Penn State routing SMU 38-10 after opening up a 28-0 halftime lead. Making matters worse, SMU and Indiana were regarded as two of the shakier teams in the playoff, with the former’s inclusion, in particular being questioned by both ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.

But Vitale is not buying it.

The legendary college basketball announcer had a stern response to Kiffin and others who have second-guessed the selection committee’s choices.

“Ok the critics of the selection of @IndianaFootball & @SMUFB get over your school not being selected,” Vitale posted on X. “Wow Lane Kiffin I thought u were better than mocking out Hoosiers for having a tough time. Did ur Ole Miss ever have a bad game ?Look at film of your Kentucky & Florida games.”

Ok the critics of the selection of @IndianaFootball & @SMUFB get over your school not being selected. Wow Lane Kiffin I thought u were better than mocking out Hoosiers for having a tough time. Did ur Ole Miss ever have a bad game ?Look at film of your Kentucky & Florida games.

— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) December 21, 2024

When things don’t go well, it’s natural to second-guess. Sometimes, that’s warranted. That said, even if you agree with the idea that Indiana and/or SMU shouldn’t have been in the CFP, Vitale has a point.

Alabama and Ole Miss both finished the regular season at 9-3. Five of the six losses suffered by those two teams were against presently unranked opponents. The Crimson Tide fell to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma (in addition to Tennessee) while the Rebels fell to Kentucky, LSU and Florida.

Additionally, blowouts in the College Football Playoff are going to happen. They happened a lot in the four-team era and with more games being played now, will certainly be even more common with 12 teams. Will the committee ever get things wrong? Absolutely. And because of that, we’ll likely see tweaks to the selection and seeding process going forward.

But Vitale is right. It’s not as though Alabama, Ole Miss and every other team that missed the CFP didn’t have their chances.

[Dick Vitale on X]