Ole Miss had playoff hopes last year but missed the field at 9-3 (5-3 SEC) after inopportune losses to Kentucky and Florida and played in the Gator Bowl. For comparison’s sake, Ole Miss had a better strength of record (No. 13 vs. No. 25) but Clemson had a better strength of schedule (No. 28 vs. No. 39) in 2024, per ESPN.

In an interview with ESPN’s Heather Dinich, the Ole Miss head coach questioned whether conference champions like Clemson deserve automatic spots in the expanded College Football Playoff. Kiffin claimed another coach told him they’d rather see Clemson on their schedule every week than face SEC teams week in and week out.