Lane Kiffin Says Ole Miss's Dominant Gator Bowl Win Was 'Statement' After Missing CFP

The Rebels took down Duke 52–20 on Thursday night.

Kiffin's Rebels beat Duke 52-20 in the Gator Bowl. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels dominated the Duke Blue Devils 52–20 in the Gator Bowl on Thursday night.

Following the contest, coach Lane Kiffin—who had previously expressed his displeasure with the CFP Committee for leaving them out of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff—didn't shy away from what the victory meant to his team:

"I'm just proud of our players," Kiffin said to ESPN in a postgame interview. "They decided to play in this game and they played really well. They wanted to send a statement to a lot of people."

“They wanted to send a statement to a lot of people. They felt left out of something and disrespected.”@Lane_Kiffin thanked his players after @OleMissFB’s 52-20 win over Duke. pic.twitter.com/y6ng62Wi7Z

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) January 3, 2025

He continued: "They felt left out of something and disrespected and so they showed today, against a really good team—a nine-win ACC team that I think was the best defense supposedly in the ACC. They made a statement I think."

Quarterback Jaxson Dart, who recently declared for the 2025 NFL draft but was one of several draft-bound Rebels who decided to play in the game, was dominant on Thursday night, throwing for 404 yards and four touchdowns. He also added 43 yards on the ground.

For context on Kiffin's gripe, Ole Miss was 9–3 and ranked No. 14 heading into bowl season before being passed up for the 11th and 12th seeds in the playoff for Indiana and SMU.

In his eyes, he got the last laugh.

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