Lane Kiffin not happy with SEC's explanation of blown call

Lane Kiffin was a little late for his noon press conference on Monday. He was on the phone with the Southeastern Conference getting an explanation for the fumbled kickoff that happened in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to Auburn that Ole Miss recovered for what should have been a touchdown.

For anyone needing a refresher, Ole Miss recovered in the end zone what was a kickoff that touched the left pinky finger of Auburn's Shaun Shivers for an apparent touchdown. The Rebels were ahead 28-27 at the time and might could have put the game away. Officials on the field and in the replay booth ruled that the ball never tipped Shivers' finger, despite replays clearly showing it that it did.

Ole Miss went on to lose the game 35-28.

"I was late for this because I was on the phone with (SEC director of officials) John McDaid...the SEC," Kiffin said. "I really struggle with this a lot. I just had the conversation with him. He called to explain what happened. I really wish, for our players, for our fans, that they could hear what I was just told. I think they deserve to. But I asked...they made sure to tell me there's a policy that I can't tell you, the players or the fans what their, if you want to call it, explanation for that situation and how TV...everybody in the country could see it hit him.

Kiffin made an appeal to officials on the field at the time of the controversial play.

"I asked the side judge why aren't they replaying it, do I need to challenge it? He said, 'They've already looked at it. There's nothing there.' I'm not allowed to say anything more about the conversation, but I really wish the fans and the players could hear what I was told. I had to take like a five-minute power yoga class before I walked in here."

Kiffin's irritation with the SEC office and conference officiating then really began to manifest.

"You know what I would like? I really like when you guys ask me questions about managing the game or how I played players, I could just say, well, that's a personal thing and I can't discuss it with you. I would really like to answer those questions like that," Kiffin quipped, in reference to the SEC office mandating he remain mum on the explanation he received.

Kiffin swayed back to the issue later in the press conference when asked a non-related question.

"Can I just answer we don't discuss? I'll just answer every question from now on that's internal. We don't discuss anything. I don't have an explanation for how I screwed up the situation," he lamented.

He then turned his attention toward the Ole Miss Sports Information staff, asking, "Can we write that policy? I'm asking our SID if we can write that policy.

"I've got to stop going on with that before I get fined."

Ole Miss (1-4) travels to Nashville to battle winless Vanderbilt (0-3) on Saturday.

SOURCE: Johnson, David. "Lane Kiffin not happy with SEC's explanation of blown call." OMSpirit.com, 26 October 2020, https://247sports.com/college/ole-miss/Article/Ole-Miss-head-coach-Lane-Kiffin-not-happy-with-SECs-explanation-of-blown-call-versus-Auburn-153677199/