When coming close appears to mean nothing, but could mean everything

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin didn’t end the season where he wanted in August. Somehow, though, you don’t get the reaction another 10-win season what he’s hoping is momentum for something bigger.

After rolling through a depleted Duke, 52-20, Kiffin knows full well he’s put the Rebels at a place they haven’t been in 62 years (some of us are actually old enough to remember those days a little) and the potential now may be even bigger.

He also knows how close they came to something bigger this season. Kiffin is also probably aware that means absolutely nothing, except it really could mean everything. Especially in the SEC where winning 10 games does mean a little more, whether anybody in the other conferences like it or not.

Lane Kiffin trying to prove his point tonight pic.twitter.com/sVFFB52kv7

— We Run the Sip (@OMRebelNation) January 3, 2025

“We can keep getting better just continuing to add players, add pieces and keeping our staff together, too, which has been very critical,” he said after win over the Blue Devils. “We said at the beginning of the year, I should remember this, I feel like this was the first year where all three coordinators, we were able to keep them maybe the whole time that we’ve been here. We’ve always lost one or two of them every year.”

No, the Rebels didn’t even get into the College Football Playoff and we’re not even going to debate that now. Winning 10 games and needing just a play or two at the right time to win every one of them shows other coaches what can be done. More importantly, recruits also notice it and don’t think they don’t.

Don’t get distracted by all this NIL talk. Yes, it is mind-numbing detail in the world of college football but it’s interesting you don’t hear a lot of complaining from the teams at the top. Winners respond to the challengers. Losers just complain a lot.

Kiffin doesn’t mind the players getting money. He’s probably a little surprised at the amounts, but not them getting the money. It’s not breaking news that he thinks the system is screwed up with a lack of regulations or oversight. Everybody is running around basically doing whatever they damn well please these days, it seems. That was behind the whole little comment at the end of Thursday night’s win a lot of folks considered a dig at Vanderbilt and their quarterback.

Lane Kiffin just took a shot at Diego Pavia!

The smile to the camera after 😂 pic.twitter.com/Nq5MJZ7lSO

— Adam Spencer (@AdamSpencer4) January 3, 2025

While the reference was clear he probably doesn’t care what the Commodores or their quarterback can get done. He’d just like to have Jaxson Dart back for another year and that was the whole point of it.

There’s probably not a loophole to jump through for that. All he can do now is keep rounding up good players and somehow getting them to buy into a team atmosphere for a run. That why winning 10 games for three straight years is important.

While Ole Miss hasn’t won a title, they have the foundation in place to have a better shot than a lot of other places.