Paul Finebaum isn’t shy with praise, and he isn’t shy with dishing out criticism either, especially for a program like Ole Miss that was desperately trying to become a true national championship contender in 2024.

On Saturday afternoon, at home, against an unranked Kentucky team, the then-6th-ranked Rebels completely fell on their face in a stunning 20-17 loss that reminded the college football world of the program’s past failures. On Monday morning during an appearance on the “McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning” show, Finebaum went straight after Ole Miss and specifically its head coach, Lane Kiffin.

“There’s no way to say they’re not (the same old Ole Miss),” said Finebaum. “I didn’t think they were, I thought they had changed.

“The problem now is you look at Ole Miss and Georgia. One suffered a loss against what’s now the No. 1 team in the country, the other one lost at home. The calculus is far worse for Ole Miss. That patsy schedule did not help them when they played a physical team, and I think they have a very difficult path to the Playoff. And if they don’t get to the Playoff, it creates a whole other sideshow and side story about Lane Kiffin and his commitment to Ole Miss and whether or not he would consider leaving.”

The Rebels’ awful loss to the Wildcats in their SEC opener dropped them 6 spots to No. 12 in Sunday’s new AP Poll, and now Ole Miss will try to get right this Saturday at South Carolina.

“I think they can afford another loss, but that’s it,” said Finebaum. “If they lose to (LSU) in two weeks, that’s it. They are going to be on the brink the rest of the way. That means they would have to beat Georgia at home and everything else that they deal with. And I don’t think they can do it. … This was a game that Ole Miss had to find a way to win. And once again Lane Kiffin missed the moment.”