Why Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin was upset with Wake Forest despite receiving $750,000
Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin has had three important phone calls this week.
None has been devoted to preparing for the No. 5 Rebels hosting Georgia Southern on Saturday (6:45 p.m. CT, SEC Network).
Kiffin has been on the phone to help find an opponent willing to fill an open date on Ole Miss' 2025 schedule. Wake Forest backed out of its game at Oxford shortly before the Rebels' 40-6 win in Winston-Salem last week.
Kiffin's frustration was evident, calling it "amazing" that Wake Forest waited until the week of the game to inform Ole Miss that the Demon Deacons would be buying the game out instead of returning next season to complete the home-and-home series.
Because the game was canceled more than 12 months before kickoff, Wake Forest will pay Ole Miss $750,000, per the game contract. Wake Forest would have owed Ole Miss $1 million if it canceled the game with less than a year until kickoff.
“It obviously wasn't appreciated very much, them putting us in that situation,” Kiffin said.
The SEC requires its teams to play at least one power conference program each season in non-conference play, and most Power Four schools are booked up.
"That's kind of why I reacted the way I did," Kiffin said Wednesday. "(Athletic director) Keith (Carter) and I work together on this. It's really not what you want to be doing. I had three different calls this week with Keith on it, and a meeting later this week. Trying to scramble and find an opponent at this last minute is why my frustration came out. Not ideal."
Wake Forest announced Wednesday it would play a home-and-home series with Oregon State. The Demon Deacons will travel to Oregon State for a game next season.
Ole Miss could receive a waiver from the SEC if an opponent satisfying the power-conference opponent mandate cannot be found.
“Now we’ve got to go find somebody and most people are all scheduled up," Kiffin said. "And even when you find somebody, you’ve got to go pay them. It’s kind of an unwritten rule not to do that, actually.”
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin: Ole Miss football coach upset Wake Forest dropped game
