Coach whose team lost to Kentucky at home shades Indiana’s CFP inclusion

The unfortunate thing about the Indiana Hoosiers’ loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the College Football Playoff on Friday night is that it opened the door for every angle critics want to take about their inclusion.

If you wanted to argue Indiana didn’t deserve to be included in the CFP despite finishing 11-1, you could make the case.

If you wanted to argue that this proved Indiana’s schedule was too soft, you could do that.

If you wanted to argue that 3-loss schools like Alabama or Ole Miss deserved to be in instead of Indiana, the floor was yours.

The reality is that this really isn’t that different from many other CFP years (2015’s Michigan State, 2018’s Notre Dame, 2021’s Cincinnati). And the results of the games don’t prove or disprove the reasons a team was included. That’s not how it works.

Don’t tell that to Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, who put a lot of energy into campaigning for his Rebels to be included in the 2023 CFP despite underperforming with a 9-3 (5-3) record. As Notre Dame put the finishing touches on their dominant win over Indiana, Kiffin took to social media to make his point.

Now, there will be plenty of college football fans who agree with Kiffin’s insinuation that they (or Alabama) should have been in the CFP instead of Indiana. However, there’s a flip side to that case.

All Ole Miss had to do was defeat a Kentucky Wildcats team that finished with a 4-8 (1-7) record in Oxford. Do that and it’s probably not even a question or debate.

Alas…

If you’re not happy with Indiana’s inclusion in the CFP this season, don’t blame the Hoosiers. They won most of the games in front of them all season long. Blame the SEC schools that couldn’t get the job done when they actually had the chance.

[Lane Kiffin]