‘We said this when he got the job’ – National college football reporter delivers harsh reality check to Lane Kiffin that LSU fans won’t want to hear
The LSU Tigers came up short in a big game against the Alabama Crimson Tide this past weekend.
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is feeling the heat after his team was blown out by Alabama at home this past weekend.
The Tigers’ 31-13 loss to the Crimson Tide means that LSU, unless something crazy happens over the final three weeks of the regular season, won’t make the College Football Playoff this season (LSU now has three losses).
NBC Sports national college football reporter Nicole Auerbach pointed out after LSU’s loss to Alabama that Kiffin, despite his reputation as one of the top coaches in the sport, has never been very good in “big games.”
“We said this when he got the job,” said Auerbach. “Everyone’s assuming that LSU is going to win national titles and certainly make the College Football Playoff — all the things Brian Kelly couldn’t do. [We said] that Lane Kiffin actually doesn’t have great wins as a head coach. His teams have fallen short in their biggest games.
“Pete Golding already has better wins as the head coach at Ole Miss, and he had them when he was basically the interim head coach last year. So I’m not terribly surprised at the situation. But I will say it’s November 7 and LSU is basically done. They need a lot of help because there’s going to be three-loss SEC teams and they still have Texas and Tennessee to play. You’ve got to chalk it up as a disappointing season for Lane Kiffin in year one.”
Kiffin has won a couple of big games — Ole Miss beat Georgia in 2024 — but his teams have always come up short when something big is on the line.
The Alabama game was one that LSU had to have — especially after Tennessee dominated the Crimson Tide in Knoxville a few weeks ago. Getting blown out at home is a tough look for a team with a $40 million-plus roster.
Maybe Kiffin eventually proves everyone wrong and wins the big game. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. All we know is that to this point, it’s not something he’s shown he’s capable of doing.
