How Lane Kiffin further illustrates his value to Ole Miss football with innovative spring game

OXFORD — Jaxson Dart stewed. He and his team had been cheated, in his view, out of a healthy lead they'd spent the first half of Ole Miss football's spring game building.

Maybe a questionable penalty call during seven-on-seven action was the source of the Rebels quarterback's irritation. Perhaps pass interference went uncalled. Or maybe an errant whistle negated a big play for Dart's Red Team.

Nope. Nah. Negative. Dart was steaming about hot dogs.

Twenty of them, to be exact ‒ all gulped down by world champion competitive eater Joey Chestnut in the span of about 90 seconds. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin inserted Chestnut into a hot dog eating contest to win a boatload of points for the Blue Team, which needed a boost.

"From that point on, I was pretty irritated," said a laughing Dart, whose team eked out a 71-70 win. "I would think that the football part would matter more."

You would think that, wouldn't you? It's a spring football game, after all. Programs have been subjecting fans to 60 minutes of sterile, full-contract football for decades.

Kiffin doesn't care ‒ not about what others think, and certainly not about tradition and convention, which he shirked by turning the Rebels' Grove Bowl into a two-hour party. Four quarters of flag football influenced the score, sure, but so did a dunk contest, tug-of-war, an obstacle course and the hot dog eating showcase that drew all of the headlines.

Chestnut's presence will load the Rebels up with social media fodder. He even took questions from the media postgame and offered a glowing review of Oxford and his Ole Miss experience.

But, in Kiffin's mind, Saturday was probably more about what the Rebels didn't do. They didn't suffer any injuries. They didn't bore their fans and visiting recruits to death. And, most importantly, they didn't give the rest of college football a nationally streamed look at their depth chart with the spring transfer portal window set to open Tuesday.

"I would like people to keep playing spring games so we can watch all their players play in spring," Kiffin said.

PORTAL PROBLEMS?: What Lane Kiffin said about Ole Miss football's spring transfer portal outlook

Let's be real for a minute. Is Kiffin's approach to the Grove Bowl placing another win onto the Rebels' total at the end of the 2024 season? Probably not. It's a footnote.

But it's an illustration of what makes Kiffin perfect for the chaotic college football timeline we currently inhabit. He innovates. Relentlessly.

When there's a change in the game, he's first into the breach.

When the transfer portal arrived, programs preferred to watch from the sidelines. Ole Miss didn't. The Rebels used it right away to transform their roster and are still reaping the benefits.

When courts ruled college athletes could profit from their Name, Image and Likeness, schools everywhere were petrified. Ole Miss wasn't. It's now a leader in the space.

And now, here's Kiffin, recognizing that the traditional model for spring games across the country probably doesn't fit with the realities of college football's current era.

Maybe the hot dog feeding frenzy disguised as a scrimmage that took place at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday wasn't up your alley. Kiffin probably doesn't care. And, if you're invested in Ole Miss' success, you should be glad he doesn't. His willingness to be original drives the Rebels forward.

"I thought it was really fun," Dart said. "...I'm pretty positive that you'll see more of that from other teams and whatnot going forward."

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss football's Lane Kiffin illustrates value with new spring game