Today: Lane Kiffin's "ultimatum," ACC Championship chaos, Josh Pate's JP Poll, and Dante Moore's second chance.

~7.5 minute read (1,908 words)

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NCAA FOOTBALL

Why Lane Kiffin has a deadline to decide whether he's staying at Ole Miss or leaving for Florida or LSU

Florida can wait until December or January to find the right coach. LSU can, too. Ole Miss, however, cannot, which is why athletic director Keith Carter needs an answer from Lane Kiffin before Egg Bowl week. In the most hectic coaching carousel in recent memory, the timing forces Ole Miss into an accelerated decision, and it puts Kiffin at the center of the sport's most closely watched choice.

The transfer portal does not open until Jan. 2. Administrators at Florida and LSU knew they risked losing one high school recruiting class the moment they fired their coaches, but they also knew they could slow-play the search. Ole Miss does not have that luxury. The coaches Carter would target to replace Kiffin are all preparing to take new jobs in the next one to two weeks. They will not be available in late December or early January. That is the difference. Florida and LSU can wait. Ole Miss cannot.

Kiffin went on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday and said there was no ultimatum and no pressure from the school. And that may be technically true, because the stakes of the deadline are not entirely clear. What is clear is that Carter needs to know whether he must hire a new coach for 2026 and beyond. If Carter's first choice would be someone like Tulane's Jon Sumrall, he cannot risk waiting until after a potential Ole Miss postseason run to engage. That job could be gone, and then a candidate like Sumrall would have waited himself out of an SEC opportunity.

"The coaching carousel is a giant game of musical chairs, and right now, Ole Miss doesn't know if it needs to put a chair in the circle. That's why Carter needs an answer. The next question is this: What does Carter do when he gets one?" —Andy Staples

The Rebels are 10-1 and headed toward the College Football Playoff. Win or lose against Mississippi State on Black Friday, they are likely in. Neither Kiffin nor Carter wants to disrupt a run that could lead to Ole Miss hosting a CFP game in Oxford. But the coaching market is moving. Auburn is searching. Florida and LSU are circling. Candidates are lining up jobs now, not later.

Kiffin has not dismissed the interest. His family visited Baton Rouge and Gainesville. He has leaned into the drama in ways only he can. Maybe this all becomes buildup to a celebratory extension announcement. Or maybe he decides he wants one of the SEC giants that are calling.

No one knows the answer except Kiffin. Carter simply needs to know it soon.

Read the full story from Andy Staples.

NCAA FOOTBALL

ACC Championship Game Chaos: The path to Charlotte for six teams still alive

Kevin Jennings, Haynes King, Carson Beck

Louisville's 20-19 loss to Clemson on Friday eliminated the Cardinals and produced a game that looked like it came from another era. It also left six ACC teams with a path to Charlotte. Virginia's win over Duke ended the dream of a four-loss ACC champ and opened the door to an even stranger possibility: a five-loss ACC champ. The scenarios are not limitless. They only feel that way.

Once again, Georgia Tech and Virginia both have the clearest path, so we'll leave them out of the discussion here. You can view their paths to Charlotte in the full article here. As for the rest of the conference...

SMU (7-3, 5-1 ACC)

The Mustangs' easiest path is to beat Louisville and Cal and then hope one or both of Pittsburgh and Virginia takes a loss. Avoiding any 6-2 tiebreaker gridlock is essential for SMU.

At the same time, another contender desperately needs SMU to finish 6-2, which keeps the Mustangs squarely in the center of the ACC traffic jam.

Duke (5-5, 4-2 ACC)

Yes, Duke is alive, but just barely. The Blue Devils must beat North Carolina and Wake Forest and cannot win any tiebreaker involving Virginia. Their path begins with Pittsburgh beating Georgia Tech, then losing to Miami.

SMU must lose to only one of Louisville or Cal. If those results fall into place and Miami loses to Virginia Tech, Duke would face Virginia in Charlotte. If Miami wins, the league turns to the SportsSource Analytics rating, which would not favor Duke.

Pittsburgh (7-3, 5-1 ACC)

Pitt's path is refreshingly simple compared to Duke's. Beat Georgia Tech and Miami, then get one loss from either SMU or Virginia. That is enough to reach Charlotte. Still complicated, just not mind-bending.

Miami (8-2, 4-2 ACC)

Miami needs the most help. The Hurricanes must win at Virginia Tech and at Pitt, and they absolutely need SMU to lose, preferably twice, so the head-to-head loss disappears from tiebreakers.

If SMU stumbles, Miami can get in with a Georgia Tech loss to Pitt and a Duke loss to either North Carolina or Wake Forest. The Canes must avoid ties that include Virginia. If SMU loses only once, Miami still has a multi-team path through opponent win percentage, a scenario that would also send Virginia to Charlotte.

Read the full breakdown from Andy Staples.

NCAA FOOTBALL

Josh Pate's JP Poll: Week 13 edition

Brent Venables, Kirby Smart, Ryan Day, Lane Kiffin

As the regular season hits the home stretch, the JP Poll shook again after a wild Week 12. Josh Pate reminded viewers this is a power rating, not a resume ranking, and that lens explains why Alabama only slid a little after a loss while Georgia surged. With rivalry week on deck, the top of the board feels fairly stable, but there is still room for chaos.

1. Ohio State (–)

Ohio State keeps the top spot in the JP Poll after another dominant win, this time 48-10 over UCLA. Pate liked how complete the Buckeyes looked again, especially on the ground, where the rushing attack produced four scores and James Peoples found the end zone twice.

They remain No. 1 both in his numbers and in the CFP rankings as they head to Rutgers before the closing showdown with Michigan.

2. Georgia (+3)

Georgia makes the big move of the week, climbing three spots to No. 2 after handling Texas in Athens. Pate pointed to Gunner Stockton as the engine, with four touchdown passes and another score on the ground as the Bulldogs rolled to a sixth straight win.

With SEC play wrapped at 7-1, Georgia now gets two nonconference games to sharpen things for the stretch run.

3. Indiana (–1)

Indiana drops a spot to No. 3 even after another comfortable win, which is more about what Georgia did than anything the Hoosiers lacked. Pate is still very high on Indiana, especially quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-7 win over Wisconsin.

The Hoosiers hit a late bye at 11-0 before their rivalry finale.

4. Texas A&M (–1)

Texas A&M also slides one spot to No. 4 after a bizarre win over South Carolina. Pate noted how close the Aggies were to getting run out of their own building before flipping the script with a huge second half.

He still likes their ceiling, but the uneven performance shows up in the power ratings. A tune-up with Samford comes before the Black Friday showdown with Texas.

5. Alabama (–1)

Alabama's home loss to Oklahoma did damage to the Crimson Tide's playoff resume, but Pate keeps them inside the top five at No. 5. In his numbers, Alabama is still one of the best pure power teams in the country, even if the margin for error is gone.

At 8-2, the Tide now welcome Eastern Illinois before their own rivalry drama arrives.

See Pate's full top 20 power rating.

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NCAA FOOTBALL

Getting it right the second time, Oregon's Dante Moore hopes the Ducks are getting it right at the right time

Dan Lanning still remembers the sting of losing Dante Moore on the eve of the early signing period in 2022. Moore had been committed to Oregon for months. He was the No. 2 quarterback in the country, one of the crown pieces of Lanning's first full class. Then came the call Lanning did not want to get, the call where Moore told him he was flipping to UCLA.

"He was with us the whole way, and then you get the call you don't want to get," Lanning said. "I was disappointed, but not angry. You can't get angry, not in today's recruiting world. There's a lesson there. You don't burn a bridge just because you get second place, and we did not with Dante."

Moore felt the same way. When he transferred to Oregon after one season in Los Angeles, it felt less like a fresh start and more like a decision he should have made the first time.

"It's funny how things work out," Moore said. "When I was flipping to UCLA, I made sure I texted Oregon and talked to them, because we had been close. My dad taught me about never burning bridges. I still had a lot of love for Coach Lanning. When I decided to transfer, one of the first things I did was call him."

Moore said he believes the move back to Eugene was exactly what he needed.

"A lot of people say the grass is not always greener on the other side, but it was for me," he said. "I knew this was a program that would develop me."

After spending last season behind Dillon Gabriel, Moore is now showing why he became a national name before he even reached high school. Jim Harbaugh offered him a scholarship as a seventh grader, and the early attention brought both hype and weight.

"My name has been out there since I was in the seventh grade," Moore said. "You learn to keep your head down and make sure you are pushing yourself no matter what the conversations are around you. You cannot let it get to you, but that is hard."

Now Oregon's starter, Moore has led the Ducks to a 9-1 record and the No. 8 spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. He has thrown for 2,190 yards and 21 touchdowns with only five interceptions while completing nearly 73 percent of his passes. He is coming off his sharpest performance yet, a 27-of-30 outing against Minnesota that broke Marcus Mariota's school record for accuracy.

This is the moment Moore envisioned when he returned to Oregon. And with USC looming Saturday, it is the moment the Ducks need him most.

Read the rest of Moore's interview with Chris Low.

TRIVIA

Now here's a guy...

Below, you'll find 3 facts about a random college football player. You'll try to guess who the player is based on the facts. Let's go.

A four-star recruit out of Texas, I led all BCS-conference running backs in yards per carry as a freshman en route to being named Pac-10 Offensive Freshman of the Year.
In 2010, I won the Doak Walker Award and was a Heisman finalist despite missing the season opener, before becoming Oregon's career rushing leader in 2011.
I once rushed for 288 yards in a single game, helped my team reach the BCS National Championship, and later won Rose Bowl MVP honors.

Answer at the bottom.

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