Lane Kiffin Reacts to Ole Miss Loss, Calls Out Controversial No-Call on Hail Mary vs. Miami

After Mississippi's season came to an end with a 31-27 loss to Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, former head coach Lane Kiffin saluted the club for a valiant effort and a historic 2025 campaign.

In a post on X, Kiffin praised the Rebels' "amazing effort and grit" throughout the entire season.

Kiffin also called out the officials for a no-call on what appeared to be pass interference on the final play of the game when De'Zhaun Stribling was trying to make a catch in the end zone after time expired (starts at 4:42 mark).

Along with acknowledging his former team after its season came to an end, Kiffin posted about his new job at LSU with an image of the school's football trophy room and captioned it: "Going to be an amazing day!!!"

Even though Kiffin and Ole Miss had a very contentious separation, there's no denying the hand he played in building the program for its success this season.

This was, by many metrics, the best season for Rebels football. They won a program-record 13 games and tied the school record for most wins in conference play (seven).

The coaching upheaval when Kiffin accepted the LSU job on Nov. 30 could have threatened Mississippi's postseason push. Instead, it seemed to act as a galvanizing force for the team and new head coach Pete Golding.

Mississippi defeated Tulane and Georgia to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinal. The Rebels looked like they were going to keep their season alive when Chambliss connected with Dae'Quan Wright for a touchdown with 3:13 remaining and the offense converted a two-point conversion to go up 27-24.

Miami responded by driving 75 yards in 15 plays, capped off by Carson Beck's three-yard touchdown run with 18 seconds left to play that made the difference.

As the sting of a close defeat after being so close to a national title wears on for Ole Miss, Kiffin will return to the recruiting trail in an effort to build LSU up to compete with his former team and the rest of the SEC in 2026.

Kiffin has one more week before the transfer portal closes on Jan. 16 to make any new additions to the Tigers roster. He already has one of the best incoming transfer classes in the country, as well as a top-15 recruiting class to work with.