Lane Kiffin takes aim at Paul Finebaum again over analyst's bad Cal-Auburn prediction

Never change, Lane. Never change. Although Lane Kiffin coaches one of the best college football teams in the country down in Oxford, the Ole Miss head coach is never above being petty. His latest petty war of note happens to be with ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum. Things got a little chippy when Kiffin appeared on The Paul Finebaum Show during 2024 SEC Media Days over in Dallas.

Kiffin remember that Finebaum once called him "The Miley Cyrus of college football", which was meant to be taken as a slight. This dates back to Cyrus' rise to prominence in the popstar world after her Disney days ran its course. This was around the same time that Kiffin failed leading the Raiders, left Finebaum's alma mater of Tennessee after one season and then got tarmac-ed over at USC.

In the years since, Cyrus has had staying power atop the charts, while Kiffin has reinvented himself as a head coach. He was a stellar offensive coordinator at Alabama before going on to do extraordinary things at Florida Atlantic before turning Ole Miss into an emerging national power. Kiffin asked Finebaum during SEC Media Days back in July, "What are you good at again?" He has a point now.

After hearing Finebaum blabber about how Auburn was going to smoke Cal, Kiffin responded on X.

Once again, we never seem to give Justin Wilcox the credit he deserves as a Power Four head coach.

Lane Kiffin claps back at Paul Finebaum for picking Cal-Auburn incorrectly

Look. I think we can all get behind the fact that despite his increasingly slimy nature that Hugh Freeze is an excellent football coach. He is not quite at persona non grata territory forever occupied by Bobby Petrino, but Freeze is not for everyone. For very different reasons, the same loose principle can be applied to Finebaum and Kiffin. You either love them or you hate them. There is no in between!

Did I think Cal was going to upset Auburn? No, but I did have the Golden Bears going 7-5 and getting to a bowl game in their first season in the ACC. I have them handing Miami the Hurricanes' lone loss of the season. If they get past San Diego State and Florida State in their next two games to get to 4-0, I am not ruling out Cal getting to the ACC Championship Game to face presumably Miami in a rematch.

I think what this cold war between Kiffin and Finebaum shows us is it just means more in the Southeastern United States. Finebaum may epitomize everything to do with the SEC from yesteryear up until now. Kiffin, well, he is part of the new wave of SEC football. He is the king of the transfer portal, and has the team to show it. I'm not looking forward to Georgia playing Ole Miss later this year.

It may only be the next chapter in an ongoing petty war, but this is the content our SEC souls crave!