Oct 25, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin reacts during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Steve Sarkisian Responds To Lane Kiffin's Bold Claim on State of College Football

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Aaron Raley | Last updated Nov 12, 2025 10:50 AM ET

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin has never been one to keep his thoughts to himself in recent years, and has recently made headlines with another take on the landscape concerning college football nowadays, specifcally dynasties in the sport.

“In my opinion, the dynasties are over,” Kiffin told ESPN. “Alabama with Coach Saban and then Kirby Smart at Georgia, where they had those rosters year in, year out and there would be a bunch of wins by 30 points in the conference, those days are done.

Many would agree with Kiffin, especially considering that loyalty isn't as big of a deal in college football as it once was due to NIL deals, revenue sharing, etc.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, however, isn't buying Kiffin's statement.

"He Says A Lot"

When asked about Kiffin's statements during his pregame press conference on Monday, Sark gave a very simple, basic response.

Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

"Lane says a lot," Sarkisian said of Kiffin.

If there's any current coach in the SEC that Sarkisian is familiar with, it's most definitely Ole Miss' Kiffin, given the two were a part of the coaching staff on the USC Trojans team that won the national championship in 2003, with Kiffin overlooking the wide receivers and Sarkisian handling the quarterbacks.

And when Kiffin was offensive coordinator with the Alabama Crimson Tide under Nick Saban, who replaced him after he left to take a head coaching job with the Florida Atlantic Owls? Yep, Steve Sarkisian.

Kiffin has even gone as far to say that analytics and computers should be deciding who makes the College Football Playoff instead of a committee of human beings.

“It can’t be these people deciding who gets in the playoff," Kiffin said. "We’ve got to get back to analytics and computers. Baseball and basketball have the RPI where they take into account margin of victory, who you play, where you play and all of that.”

The Ohio State Buckeyes could prove Kiffin wrong this year, however, as the reigning national champions are currently atop both the AP and CFP rankings, and are sitting in a good spot to bring head coach Ryan Day his second straight title.

As for Sarkisian's Longhorns, their playoff hopes are still very much alive, as long as they continue to win in the remainder of the 2025 season, which will get much harder this weekend when they take on the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, the one team that seemed to truly have their number in 2024.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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