First and 10: Inevitable marriage between Lane Kiffin and Florida now has momentum

1. Lane Kiffin: There’s no stopping the what-if train

So here we are, in a sport that refuses to live in the now because the future is so undeniably delicious, and the Lane Kiffin to Florida dating game has officially begun.

Lane and Florida sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First comes a firing, then comes a hiring, then comes Kiffin …

“All of a sudden, our program isn’t terrible,” Kiffin said last weekend in defense of his Ole Miss team after the then-Top 10 Rebels lost at home to Kentucky as a double-digit favorite ― and kicked off the inevitable Florida and Kiffin chase.

Deny it all you want, everyone. This shotgun marriage now has momentum.

Before we go further, Kiffin is absolutely right. The idea that Ole Miss is a fraud, or got exposed or can’t win a big game because of one bad Saturday is wildly shortsighted.

But there’s no chance that’s stopping this train of what-if. If anything, it enhanced it.

Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin waves to fans after his team’s defeat of Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2022.

It’s all about timing now, and how one more Ole Miss loss sets everything in motion.

The Florida program, once a beacon for all things opulence and arrogance, is a shadow of its former championship self. Gators coach Billy Napier is another discombobulated, dysfunctional loss away from getting tossed on the scrap heap of Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain and Dan Mullen.

It’s the worst kept secret in college football.

Florida, with every possible advantage to win big, hasn’t done it since Urban Meyer arrived in Gainesville nearly two decades ago and road roughshod over college football with a six-year iron fist that was equal parts remarkable and repulsive.

Then there’s Kiffin, whose coaching career began in 2009 at Tennessee just as Meyer’s run at Florida – and the Gators’ perch on the top…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/first-10-inevitable-marriage-between-172825073.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-02 17:28:25

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