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J.J. Post, ESPN
The face of college football is a hotly contested debate.
Is it a star player, such as Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers or Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty? Is it the coach of a national title contender, such as Georgia Bulldogs boss Kirby Smart or Ohio State Buckeyes head man Ryan Day? Could it even be a conference commissioner — think the SEC’s Greg Sankey or the Big Ten’s Tony Petitti — as realignment redefines the sport as we know it? There’s no shortage of options.
But the face of college football on X? It isn’t even a question. There’s Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin, and then there’s everybody else.
Since taking over in Oxford in 2020, Kiffin’s Rebels squads have gone from strength to strength. In 2021 the Rebels won 10 games for the first time since 2015, and last fall had their first 11-win season in school history. But you could argue Kiffin’s continued growth on social media has been just as steady.
Currently approaching 700,000 followers on X, Kiffin is one of the most prolific social media posters in high-major college football.
Across a stretch from Friday to Sunday, Kiffin posted or reposted 22 different times … when he wasn’t leading Ole Miss to a 52-3 win over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
From the Rebels’ dominance to Northern Illinois’ stunning upset, Ole Miss’ coach’s posting covers plenty of topical ground. Here’s Week 2 as told by Lane Kiffin’s X account.
Northern Illinois shocks the world
The story of the week in college football was the Northern Illinois Huskies triumph over the then-No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend.
Running back Antario Brown amassed 225 total yards as the Huskies secured their first-ever win against an opponent ranked in the national top 10. After the game, Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock was emotional about the achievement.
Kiffin took to X to show love to the sixth-year head coach.
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 8, 2024
SEC heavyweights continue to thrive
Two weeks into the season, the AP Top 25 loves the SEC. With Notre Dame’s loss shaking up the top five, several teams had the chance to climb the rankings.
Among those teams were Kiffin’s Rebels, the Missouri Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers, who took spots No. 5, 6 and 7 in the poll, respectively. As a result, with Georgia holding serve at No. 1 and Texas moving up to No. 2, SEC teams held six of the top seven slots — the first time in the AP poll’s 88-year history five or more of the top seven teams belonged to one conference.
Kiffin hopped on social media to shout out his fellow conferencemates.
@SEC https://t.co/8iNvlmrcI1
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 9, 2024
Auburn falls at home to Cal
It wasn’t all fun for the SEC in Week 2, though. The Auburn Tigers suffered their first loss of the season, falling to the California Golden Bears at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Tiger quarterback Payton Thorne threw four interceptions in the loss, with Auburn’s five total turnovers being the most the team had committed in a game since 2017.
Kiffin had plenty of time Saturday night to troll his rivals, tweeting out a link to an article from that morning citing legendary Alabama Crimson Tide head coach — and Kiffin’s former boss — Nick Saban’s positive comments about the Tigers’ potential on “College GameDay.”
Nick Saban Makes Bold Statement About Hugh Freeze, Auburn – Athlon Sports https://t.co/piT9IWjPUY
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 8, 2024
USC blanks Utah State to break remarkable streak
The USC Trojans followed up their prime-time Week 1 triumph over LSU with a clinical 48-0 win against an overmatched Utah State Aggies squad.
With the win, the Trojans snapped a streak of 152 straight games without a shutout, dating back to 2011. Only three power-conference schools had longer active streaks.
The coach for USC during that last shutout, a 50-0 stomping of rival UCLA? None other than Lane Kiffin. Kiffin showed love after the game to Matt Barkley, his starting quarterback in 2011 who led the Trojans onto the field on Saturday as a tunnel captain.
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 9, 2024
ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this story.
