Ole Miss Rebels coach Lane Kiffin came to the defense of Texas A&M on Monday.
Not that the Aggies need the help. They’re currently 9-0 on the year, No. 3 in the AP Poll, and also No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings. By all accounts, if they win out, they’ll be one of the top seeds in the CFP, if not No. 1 overall.
While it’s silly to worry about what the rankings say in Week 10, college football is the silliest of American sports, and everyone makes a huge deal out of what will essentially be meaningless in a few days.
Enter Kiffin, who was asked about the initial CFP rankings and whether the position of SEC teams was encouraging to him. He said that, while he saw some positives, something about the Aggies’ ranking rubbed him the wrong way.
“Texas A&M being 3- what more do you want them to do to be 1?”
Lane Kiffin makes comments on the Aggies not being ranked No. 1 in the first CFP rankings ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Yu97ykJIsj
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 10, 2025
“Texas A&M being three. What more do you want them to do to be one?” Kiffin said. “Put’m on a neutral site. Ask Vegas what’s the spread. And that to me shows more than people sitting around a room just guessing.”
If Kiffin doesn’t like the idea of people sitting around a room guessing to determine who plays in the CFP, he probably should quit now, cause that’s how college football works.
Regardless, Kiffin went on to explain that Texas A&M’s strength of schedule should merit a higher ranking than they currently have.
“Well, they went up to Notre Dame and won,” Kiffin said. “So those people that say, ‘Man, those schedules are worth it to play that.’ What if they didn’t play Notre Dame and just played whoever and just had an easy win? They’d be ranked in the same spot. So what good did that do if that’s not rewarded? So, they’ve got the highest metrics of everybody, and they’re not No. 1, so I don’t know.”
Again, this is all meaningless. Texas A&M, Ohio State, or Indiana will lose at some point, or perhaps all of them will. But if Texas A&M is still undefeated after navigating their schedule and the SEC Championship Game, they will almost assuredly be No. 1 in most people’s eyes.
That said, we appreciate Lane’s conference camaraderie.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.