Lane Kiffin admits he took mercy on Georgia Tech coach

Sep 18, 2021; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffen at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Lane Kiffin admitted on Monday that he took some mercy on Georgia Tech over the weekend.

Kiffin spoke with the media two days after his Ole Miss Rebels beat the Yellow Jackets 42-0 to improve to 3-0. Kiffin has been using USC transfer Jaxson Dart at quarterback, but has also rotated in Luke Altmyer to get some action.

Kiffin said he would have liked to get Altmyer more opportunities to throw passes against Georgia Tech, but he didn’t want to run up the score. He specifically noted that Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins is on the hot seat.

“I would have liked the opportunity to throw more with Luke, but having empathy for what was going on in that game on the other sideline and the hot seat or whatever he’s on, just didn’t really feel like it was right,” kiffin said.

Even though he took his foot off the gas pedal, his team still won 42-0, so it’s not like easing up cost his team much.

Is that a classy and sportsmanlike move from Kiffin? Many will say so. As a guy who got fired after a 62-41 loss to Arizona State while coaching USC in 2013, Kiffin is accutely aware of just how much one really ugly performance can negatively impact a coach. Losing 42-0 is bad, but losing something like 63-0 would have been even worse.

Collins is in his fourth season at Georgia Tech. He has gone 10-27 with the team as he struggles to remake the Jackets from their days running the triple-option under Paul Johnson.

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