Lane Kiffin Backs Paul Finebaum’s Takedown of ACC Coach in Defense of the SEC originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Last year, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) produced four teams with 10-plus wins, two College Football Playoff participants, a couple of nine-win squads and 13 bowl-eligible programs.
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At ACC Media Days on Tuesday, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee pointed to those metrics as proof that there are no easy outings on the schedule.
“You look at our league,” Lashlee told assembled reporters, “I mean, there’s just not a lot of easy wins on the schedule, and there are other leagues that claim depth, but the SEC has had the same six schools win the championship since 1964. … That’s top-heavy to me. That’s not depth.”
Just 24 hours later, the shot at the SEC’s perceived parity ignited a fierce retort from one of its fiercest defenders, Paul Finebaum.
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On ESPN’s “Get Up” on Wednesday, Finebaum labeled Lashlee’s critique “comical” and “embarrassing,” invoking SMU’s infamous 1987 “death penalty” sanctions to undercut the Mustangs coach’s credibility.
“If I understand correctly, he’s the head coach at SMU,” Finebaum said. “1987, do you know what happened at SMU? They shut the program down. While he’s making fun of the SEC for winning national championships all over the place, SMU is the most corrupt program in the history of college football. And Rhett Lashlee has the nerve to get up there and throw stones? By the way, he played at Arkansas. … That’s one of the most comical, embarrassing rants I have ever heard.”
Shortly after Finebaum’s on-air rebuke, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin added his voice to the fray via Instagram, sharing Lashlee’s original comments and tagging Finebaum’s show account with the message, “Get him @finebaumshow.”
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Lane Kiffin, InstagramLane Kiffin, Instagram
Finebaum is one of the Southeast’s most influential voices on college football. A former sports columnist in Birmingham, Alabama, Finebaum launched his syndicated radio network in 2001, anchored by “The Paul Finebaum Show,” and joined ESPN’s SEC Network in 2014.
His outspoken, rapid-fire style, often amplified by a lineup of passionate callers, has made him the de facto centerpiece of SEC debate.
Paul Finebaum, radio and ESPN television personality.Ken Ruinard / staff, The Greenville News via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Finebaum’s show has been named among the top sports-talk programs in the nation and in 2022, he was inducted into the University of Alabama College of Communication Hall of Fame for his contributions to sports media.
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Whether you side with Lashlee’s “top-heavy” claim or Finebaum’s blunt counterpunch, bowl-chasing in the ACC and playoff-pursuing in the SEC just got a lot noisier.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 23, 2025, where it first appeared.
