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Lane Kiffin = Bo Pelini?

thall_

Walk On
Sep 25, 2022
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Lane Kiffin has been a hot name lately, so it got me thinking. What's his signature win? How does he fair against ranked opponents? Is he even better than Pelini was?

Here's a look at his games against ranked teams:

Tennessee
#1 Florida: 13-23
#1 Alabama: 10-12

#21 South Carolina: 31-13
#12 Virginia Tech: 14-37

USC
#16 Stanford: 35-37
#1 Oregon: 32-53

#18 Arizona: 24-21
#4 Stanford: 22-43
#4 Oregon: 38-35
#21 Stanford: 14-21
#2 Oregon: 51-62
#17 UCLA: 28-38
#1 Notre Dame: 13-22


FAU
#9 Wisconsin: 14-31
#7 Oklahoma: 14-63
#16 UCF: 36-56
#5 Ohio State: 21-45
#18 UCF: 14-48


OLE MISS
#5 Florida: 35-51
#1 Alabama: 48-63

#11 Indiana: 26-20
#1 Alabama: 21-42
#16 Arkansas: 52-51
#18 Auburn: 20-31
#11 Texas A&M: 29-19 (this A&M team finished unranked at 8-4)
#7 Baylor: 7-21
#7 Kentucky: 22:19 (this Kentucky team is currently unranked and 5th in the SEC East)
* LSU: 20-45 (LSU was unranked when the game occurred, but are currently #15)

so here's where we are when comparing the two:
Bo PeliniLane Kiffin
Overall Record100-55 (0.645)84-42 (0.666)
Record Against Ranked Opponents8-17 (0.32)7-21 (0.25)
Bowl Game Record4-3 (0.571)2-3 (0.4)

The LSU game 10 days ago felt like a major indictment on Lane Kiffin, in part because it reminded me of Nebraska's 2014 game against Wisconsin (yes, the Melvin Gordon one). Like Nebraska, Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead against a team they very well should've beat, but were outscored 42-6 in the final 3 quarters. Out-coached and physically dominated for the majority of the game.

Something in my gut tells me Kiffin is the better coach, maybe it's the eye test or simply the magnification of emotions from watching your own team get crushed. But why? Kiffin is going to win a lot of the games on his schedule, but he seems to rest on the bottom of the 2nd tier of coaches (Saban/Kirby/Meyer/Petersen being tier 1, Lincoln Riley/Brian Kelly/Aranda/Gundy/etc being tier 2) in that there isn't really a body of evidence to suggest he's going to consistently compete for Conference Championships or do well against the titans of the conference.

It is easy to say "I would love to have Pelini's success right now" because its true for almost all of us. I think the feeling of always being on the outside looking in against top opponents would quickly return if we were to achieve that level again. Beating the Marylands and Rutgers, then getting stomped by the Wisconsin's and Ohio States.

What do y'all think?
 
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Fair comparison but I would take Lane. I also like his odds against ranked BIG opponents vs ranked SEC opponents. Hopefully Lane has grown throughout his stops as well. Not sure Bo showed growth. You also forgot sideline pant urinations. Pelini 1, Lane 0.
 
Ole Miss lost to Baylor last year in the Sugar bowl mostly because Matt Corral getting injured early in the game…

He plays the whole game they beat Baylor…

Pelini was coaching in the FCS and was 33-28 at Youngstown St with only one playoff appearance…

I not seeing the comparisons between the two..
 
If you want a serious comparison, drop FAU. On what planet are they going to beat top 10 P5 programs?
 
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IDK. have Bo and Kiffin ever been in the same room together? I'd say its at least plausible if they haven't.
 
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Excluding his stint at FAU, Kiffens largest defeat was by 23 points against a ranked opponent. Bo lost by 31, 34, 35, and 35. Then there was the 39 in the infamous Big Ten title game. He had a knack for having his team completely unprepared for the big game. And without Callahans recruiting classes, he largely would be seen as much of a failure as Mike Riley
 
Excluding his stint at FAU, Kiffens largest defeat was by 23 points against a ranked opponent. Bo lost by 31, 34, 35, and 35. Then there was the 39 in the infamous Big Ten title game. He had a knack for having his team completely unprepared for the big game. And without Callahans recruiting classes, he largely would be seen as much of a failure as Mike Riley

Last sentence is just not true.

He won just as much with his own recruits.
 
Lane Kiffin has been a hot name lately, so it got me thinking. What's his signature win? How does he fair against ranked opponents? Is he even better than Pelini was?

Here's a look at his games against ranked teams:

Tennessee
[COLOR=%s]#1 Florida: 13-23
#1 Alabama: 10-12
#21 South Carolina: 31-13
#12 Virginia Tech: 14-37[/COLOR]

USC
[COLOR=%s]#16 Stanford: 35-37
#1 Oregon: 32-53
#18 Arizona: 24-21
#4 Stanford: 22-43
#4 Oregon: 38-35
#21 Stanford: 14-21
#2 Oregon: 51-62
#17 UCLA: 28-38
#1 Notre Dame: 13-22[/COLOR]

FAU
[COLOR=%s]#9 Wisconsin: 14-31
#7 Oklahoma: 14-63
#16 UCF: 36-56
#5 Ohio State: 21-45
#18 UCF: 14-48[/COLOR]

OLE MISS
[COLOR=%s]#5 Florida: 35-51
#1 Alabama: 48-63
#11 Indiana: 26-20
#1 Alabama: 21-42
#16 Arkansas: 52-51
#18 Auburn: 20-31
#11 Texas A&M: 29-19[/COLOR] (this A&M team finished unranked at 8-4)
[COLOR=%s]#7 Baylor: 7-21
#7 Kentucky: 22:19[/COLOR] (this Kentucky team is currently unranked and 5th in the SEC East)
[COLOR=%s]* LSU: 20-45[/COLOR] (LSU was unranked when the game occurred, but are currently #15)

so here's where we are when comparing the two:
Bo PeliniLane Kiffin
Overall Record100-55 (0.645)84-42 (0.666)
Record Against Ranked Opponents8-17 (0.32)7-21 (0.25)
Bowl Game Record4-3 (0.571)2-3 (0.4)

The LSU game 10 days ago felt like a major indictment on Lane Kiffin, in part because it reminded me of Nebraska's 2014 game against Wisconsin (yes, the Melvin Gordon one). Like Nebraska, Ole Miss jumped out to an early lead against a team they very well should've beat, but were outscored 42-6 in the final 3 quarters. Out-coached and physically dominated for the majority of the game.

Something in my gut tells me Kiffin is the better coach, maybe it's the eye test or simply the magnification of emotions from watching your own team get crushed. But why? Kiffin is going to win a lot of the games on his schedule, but he seems to rest on the bottom of the 2nd tier of coaches (Saban/Kirby/Meyer/Petersen being tier 1, Lincoln Riley/Brian Kelly/Aranda/Gundy/etc being tier 2) in that there isn't really a body of evidence to suggest he's going to consistently compete for Conference Championships or do well against the titans of the conference.

It is easy to say "I would love to have Pelini's success right now" because its true for almost all of us. I think the feeling of always being on the outside looking in against top opponents would quickly return if we were to achieve that level again. Beating the Marylands and Rutgers, then getting stomped by the Wisconsin's and Ohio States.

What do y'all think?
I'd take Kiffin above any realistic candidate available.
 
Tell me you just do it all the time to even bring that up.

Nah, I was never a Bo fan. I saw what would be the hallmark of his career in three key games during his one season as DC here.

Missouri -

Zack Abron 20 carries, 84 yds, 1 TD
Brad Smith 18 carries, 123 yds, 3 TD

NU went into the 4th quarter up 24-14, gave up 27 pts. lost 41-24.

Texas -

Cedric Benson 28 carries, 179 yds, 3 TD
Vince Young 14 carries, 163 yds, 1 TD

This game was never in doubt, Texas took charge from the beginning.

Kansas St. -

Darren Sproles 25 carries, 140 yds, 1 TD
Ell Roberson 22 carries, 90 yds, 1 TD

This game was tied 7-7 at halftime, KSU would out score us 31-2 in the second half, as they cruised to a 38-9 victory.

I saw enough in those three games to know that Bo would be Fool’s Gold, winning the games he should and getting smoked by superior teams.
 
Nah, I was never a Bo fan. I saw what would be the hallmark of his career in three key games during his one season as DC here.

Missouri -

Zack Abron 20 carries, 84 yds, 1 TD
Brad Smith 18 carries, 123 yds, 3 TD

NU went into the 4th quarter up 24-14, gave up 27 pts. lost 41-24.

Texas -

Cedric Benson 28 carries, 179 yds, 3 TD
Vince Young 14 carries, 163 yds, 1 TD

This game was never in doubt, Texas took charge from the beginning.

Kansas St. -

Darren Sproles 25 carries, 140 yds, 1 TD
Ell Roberson 22 carries, 90 yds, 1 TD

This game was tied 7-7 at halftime, KSU would out score us 31-2 in the second half, as they cruised to a 38-9 victory.

I saw enough in those three games to know that Bo would be Fool’s Gold, winning the games he should and getting smoked by superior teams.

Cool

Then anyone should be able to have his success here. All for it whomever that is.

But no coach is winning a NC here anytime soon.
 
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Fair comparison but I would take Lane. I also like his odds against ranked BIG opponents vs ranked SEC opponents. Hopefully Lane has grown throughout his stops as well. Not sure Bo showed growth. You also forgot sideline pant urinations. Pelini 1, Lane 0.
Plus one other MAJOR variable favoring Kiffin is the guy can recruit and Bo was not good at it
 
Nah, I was never a Bo fan. I saw what would be the hallmark of his career in three key games during his one season as DC here.

Missouri -

Zack Abron 20 carries, 84 yds, 1 TD
Brad Smith 18 carries, 123 yds, 3 TD

NU went into the 4th quarter up 24-14, gave up 27 pts. lost 41-24.

Texas -

Cedric Benson 28 carries, 179 yds, 3 TD
Vince Young 14 carries, 163 yds, 1 TD

This game was never in doubt, Texas took charge from the beginning.

Kansas St. -

Darren Sproles 25 carries, 140 yds, 1 TD
Ell Roberson 22 carries, 90 yds, 1 TD

This game was tied 7-7 at halftime, KSU would out score us 31-2 in the second half, as they cruised to a 38-9 victory.

I saw enough in those three games to know that Bo would be Fool’s Gold, winning the games he should and getting smoked by superior teams.
Ummmm, all those games the offense sort of sucked.

Also, I can't believe he did bad vs a bunch of dudes that made it to the NFL and got Heisman votes.
 
Ummmm, all those games the offense sort of sucked.

Also, I can't believe he did bad vs a bunch of dudes that made it to the NFL and got Heisman votes.

So his time as DC and head coach, we are going to blame all his ass whoppings on terrible offense, that’s classic. RollingLaugh

I’m sorry, I thought you guys believed we needed a new coach so we could compete with the teams with superior athletes. That’s not done by making excuses, that’s done by recruiting better athletes and developing them. Those are two things Bo never did.
 
So his time as DC and head coach, we are going to blame all his ass whoppings on terrible offense, that’s classic. RollingLaugh

I’m sorry, I thought you guys believed we needed a new coach so we could compete with the teams with superior athletes. That’s not done by making excuses, that’s done by recruiting better athletes and developing them. Those are two things Bo never did.
Don't be sorry, it is okay.
 
So his time as DC and head coach, we are going to blame all his ass whoppings on terrible offense, that’s classic. RollingLaugh

I’m sorry, I thought you guys believed we needed a new coach so we could compete with the teams with superior athletes. That’s not done by making excuses, that’s done by recruiting better athletes and developing them. Those are two things Bo never did.


Bo was a good coach just not great.
 
Who are the players that Pelini recruited that are still in the NFL?
David, I think he was a Bo recruit.
Gregory, I think he was too.

That is all I know of. And I honestly don't even know if those two are his recruits. I can't remember.

Disclaimer, I LITERALLY have no idea if those were Bo guys, so I know there are some "pile on posters" but again, I am just guessing.
 
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Nah, I was never a Bo fan. I saw what would be the hallmark of his career in three key games during his one season as DC here.

Missouri -

Zack Abron 20 carries, 84 yds, 1 TD
Brad Smith 18 carries, 123 yds, 3 TD

NU went into the 4th quarter up 24-14, gave up 27 pts. lost 41-24.

Texas -

Cedric Benson 28 carries, 179 yds, 3 TD
Vince Young 14 carries, 163 yds, 1 TD

This game was never in doubt, Texas took charge from the beginning.

Kansas St. -

Darren Sproles 25 carries, 140 yds, 1 TD
Ell Roberson 22 carries, 90 yds, 1 TD

This game was tied 7-7 at halftime, KSU would out score us 31-2 in the second half, as they cruised to a 38-9 victory.

I saw enough in those three games to know that Bo would be Fool’s Gold, winning the games he should and getting smoked by superior teams.
Woof. Good thing he never forgot how to coach against a run game, or gave up an NCAA single game rushing record to a guy that didn’t even play the 4th quarter. All hail Blo!
 
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David, I think he was a Bo recruit.
Gregory, I think he was too.

That is all I know of. And I honestly don't even know if those two are his recruits. I can't remember.

Disclaimer, I LITERALLY have no idea if those were Bo guys, so I know there are some "pile on posters" but again, I am just guessing.
I get it, I just think there are about 20 players from Nebraska in the league. Probably 12-15 probably played for Pelini and a good portion of that number were recruited by Pelini. So 1-2 per year on average.

I just don't think having 1-2 guys sitting on NFL rosters shows that Pelini was actually proficient or even good at recruiting.

Typical tallest little person comparison.
 
I get it, I just think there are about 20 players from Nebraska in the league. Probably 12-15 probably played for Pelini and a good portion of that number were recruited by Pelini. So 1-2 per year on average.

I just don't think having 1-2 guys sitting on NFL rosters shows that Pelini was actually proficient or even good at recruiting.

Typical tallest little person comparison.
Yeah, I have no idea what a good number would be.
 
If you want a serious comparison, drop FAU. On what planet are they going to beat top 10 P5 programs?
40% of the ranked teams he played while at FAU were in his own conference.

If I drop his FAU tenure, then its only fair I drop Bo's YSU tenure. Here's how they stack up in that regard:

Bo PeliniLane Kiffin
Overall Record67-27 (0.713)58-29 (0.667)
Ranked Opponent Record8-17 (0.32)7-16 (0.304)
Bowl Game Record4-3 (0.571)1-3 (0.25)

unfortunately, that shifted every metric in Bo's favor & Bo didn't have the recruiting grounds that Kiffin did.
 
Excluding his stint at FAU, Kiffens largest defeat was by 23 points against a ranked opponent. Bo lost by 31, 34, 35, and 35. Then there was the 39 in the infamous Big Ten title game. He had a knack for having his team completely unprepared for the big game. And without Callahans recruiting classes, he largely would be seen as much of a failure as Mike Riley
Kiffin lost by 25 as recent as 10 days ago against a now ranked opponent.

Personally, I'm not going to make a distinction between losing by 3 scores vs losing by 4+ scores. 3 scores is the line where it becomes a borderline blowout and evidence the team was outmatched.
 
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