Joel Klatt: Hard not to feel bad for Ole Miss after Lane Kiffin ‘abandoned’ them
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Joel Klatt’s knee-jerk reaction to Thursday night’s 31-27 loss for Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl was one of disappointment.
The Rebels had a fourth-quarter lead twice in the final 7 minutes of the game, but couldn’t hold up on a final, consequential drive, and gave up a touchdown run to Carson Beck with just seconds left. The result ended what had been a dream College Football Playoff run, which began amidst a tremendous amount of uncertainty when Lane Kiffin up and left the team to take another job.
“Hard not to feel bad for those Ole Miss players… they fought their guts out and stayed together as their coach abandoned them before the biggest games of their lives,” Klatt wrote in a post on social media. “Tip of the cap to (Trinidad) Chambliss and all of the leaders of that team.”
Chambliss threw for 277 yards in the game. His only touchdown pass of the night came with 3:13 to play on a 24-yard throw to Dae’Quan Wright to put the Rebels on top, 27-24.
Ole Miss won its first 2 games of the CFP — a 41-10 drubbing of Tulane in the first round at home and then a 39-34 classic over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The latter avenged the only regular-season loss the Rebels suffered on their way to a school record-setting 13 wins.
The Rebels promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to permanent head coach following Kiffin’s departure and then, on New Year’s Day, won the biggest game in school history.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
