Ole Miss CFP ranking: How Florida State’s Jordan Travis injury in 2023 compares to Lane Kiffin’s 2025 departure originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Lane Kiffin has officially left Ole Miss and has become the head coach for LSU. Given that the move was within the division and Kiffin accepted the job before the Rebels began their postseason, the Ole Miss administration decided he would not coach the team through the playoffs and cut ties.
Advertisement
This could be an impactful move. Not only will the Rebels not have the head coach who led them to an 11-1 record, but the fact that he is no longer coaching them could be a factor that the College Football Playoff committee takes into account with its rankings.
The committee previously established that a change to the team could impact rankings. Florida State went undefeated in 2023, but lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury. This led the committee to keep the Seminoles out of the then-four-team playoff.
Here is more on the impact Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss could have on the Rebels’ CFP ranking, and how it compares to Travis’ injury at Florida State in 2023.
MORE: Tracking every hire of the 2025 college football coaching carousel
Advertisement
Will College Football Playoff Committee drop Ole Miss?
This is one of the biggest questions for the second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings. The Rebels took care of business and beat Mississippi State in rivalry week. Ole Miss suffered no major injuries, so theoretically, it shouldn’t drop. Heading into Week 14, Ole Miss was ranked No. 7 by the playoff committee. The Rebels won’t play in the SEC championship game, so they are looking at an at-large bid into the 12-team playoff.
Hunter Yurachek of the playoff committee said, “It is in the protocol, but I’m not sure we will have a data point to use that as part of the protocol. We would not have seen the team play without the coach.”
This is an important point. With no game until the possible playoff game, the committee will not have seen how new head coach Pete Golding operates. Golding served as the defensive coordinator for Kiffin and hasn’t been named Ole Miss’ permanent head coach.
Advertisement
To make the playoffs, the committee just has to think that Ole Miss is one of the best remaining non-conference champion teams. Five conference champions will make the playoff automatically, so the Rebels just have to be one of the best seven teams left. They have the resume to be in that group, and the loss of Kiffin isn’t expected to keep them out of the playoff ahead of conference championship week.
MORE: What did Lane Kiffin say during his introductory press conference at LSU?
Why did Florida State miss College Football Playoff in 2023?
Florida State missed the College Football Playoff in 2023 for two reasons. First, and possibly most importantly, the college football playoff was still limited to only four teams.
Advertisement
Second, despite the undefeated 13-0 record and the ACC championship, the Seminoles were without their starting quarterback. Travis got hurt in mid-November against North Alabama. Florida State played a game with backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker against Florida and won 24-15. The loss moved the Gators to 5-6. The Seminoles then beat Louisville 16-6 in the ACC championship.
The committee decided to list Florida State as the No. 5 team in the country, ruling them out of the playoff without their starting quarterback. The Seminoles then had plenty of players opt out of their bowl game, some to get ready for the draft, others to transfer, and Florida State lost 63-3 to Georgia.
MORE: Why did Lane Kiffin leave Ole Miss for LSU?
Florida State Jordan Travis injury 2023
Travis got hurt on November 18. Florida State was playing a tune-up game against North Alabama ahead of its rivalry week game against Florida.
Advertisement
The Seminoles were likely planning on playing Travis in the first half, assuming they got out to a big lead. Travis scrambled out of the pocket and was tackled from behind and taken down awkwardly. He suffered a fractured and dislocated left ankle, ending his season.
MORE: How much is LSU paying Lane Kiffin to leave Ole Miss?
Ole Miss 2025 vs. Florida State 2023
In 2025, Ole Miss tallied an 11-1 record under Kiffin before he decided to become the new head coach for LSU. The Rebels will not play in the SEC championship game because they are on the wrong side of a series of tiebreakers. Ole Miss’s regular season is done, and its resume is complete, including a new head coach. The Rebels’ lone loss came on the road against Georgia.
Advertisement
Florida State went undefeated in 2023. The Seminoles finished 12-0 and then beat Louisville in the ACC title game. Florida State lost Travis in their second-to-last game. The committee determined that the team they saw play two games without its starting quarterback was not one of the top four teams in the country. This was one of the most controversial decisions, and it happened the year before the playoffs expanded to 12 teams.
