Who's Next: Can Lane Kiffin fulfill his potential at Ole Miss?
Alabama hasn’t lost a regular-season game against a non-conference opponent since 2007. Yet the Crimson Tide has lost at least once in SEC play in nine of Alabama coach Nick Saban’s 13 seasons.
For that reason, BamaInsider decided to skip straight to the games that matter most when it comes to previewing the coaches Alabama will face in 2020. Today we continue with Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.
Performance against Saban
Record: 0-1
Total Score: 12-10 Alabama
Next Meeting: Oct. 3 @ Ole Miss
Accomplishments
-Overall record: 61-34 overall, 26-13 at Florida Atlantic (2017-19)
-Conference USA Championship (2017, 2019)
-Kiffin led USC to finish atop the Pac-12 South standings in 2011, but the Trojans were ineligible due to prior NCAA violations.
Story lines
Kiffin's exit in the middle of the 2016 College Football Playoff casts a strange light on his days in Tuscaloosa.
Still, he's likely the best offensive coordinator of the Nick Saban era, and could very well prove to be the first Saban assistant to get a win over the Crimson Tide.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts seemed to thrive in his system during 2016, and what Kiffin did with quarterbacks Blake Sims and Jake Coker in 2014 and 2015, respectively, is even more impressive.
Blake Sims in Alabama's record book:
2nd- Single-season yards --- 3,837
3rd- single-season TDs --- 35
5th- career completion percentage --- 63.9
Jake Coker in Alabama's record book:
1st- single-season completions --- 263
3rd- career completion percentage --- 66.9
3rd- single-season pass yards --- 3,110
What's on the line?
Kiffin's reputation as a head coach took a major blow when USC fired him in 2013.
His success at Alabama helped him rehab his image to some degree. His success at Florida Atlantic, in such a short time, seems to have him back on the fast track.
If Kiffin can't beat Saban this year, it won't set him back in the short or long term professionally. He will just be the latest former assistant to suffer a defeat at Saban's hands.
However, if he can keep it competitive even for a little while, the game could become a massive infomercial for his program. He can walk into living rooms and point to the game as a sign Ole Miss is close to something special.
Recruiting battles
Ole Miss and Alabama aren't exactly in the same weight class when it comes to recruiting.
Ole Miss' last four classes finished 33.5 on average. Alabama's lowest rank during that stretch was seventh.
Ole Miss did, however, sign the No. 7 class back in 2016.
When it comes to recruiting battles, there are not many prospects weighing these two schools at potential finalists.
The one exception seems to be tight end Jalen Shead who was recently offered by the Crimson Tide.