Lane Kiffin quarterback Austin Simmons has made a bold declaration about the future of the No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels. On Monday, the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.
After the game, Simmons took to his Instagram story to post a picture of Ohio State celebrating on his TV screen and declared that Ole Miss would compete for the championship next season.
An Ole Miss fan account shared the quarterback’s statement on X/Twitter.
“We will be here. Mark my words,” Simmons posted.
Ole Miss (10-3) had a good season but couldn’t compete in the College Football Playoff. They suffered a 24-17 loss to the Florida Gators (8-5) on Nov. 23, 2024, negatively affecting their chances of playing for the championship.
Their last game was a blowout 52-20 victory over the Duke Blue Devils (9-4) in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2. Quarterback Jaxson Dart had a great performance with 27 of 25 completed passes for 404 yards and four touchdowns.
Kiffin has been outspoken about how the new playoff system worked against the Rebels. He’ll try to regroup in the offseason to lead Ole Miss to their first national championship win since 1960.
Lane Kiffin’s quarterback options for the 2025 season
Ole Miss will lose starting quarterback Jaxson Dart to the 2025 NFL draft. Dart finished the season with 276 completed passes for 4,279 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Austin Simmons could take over the starting role for his sophomore year. He played in a few games, including a 34-yard pass in the Gator Bowl. The backup quarterback had 19 completed passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns in his freshman year.
Although he is a strong candidate to assume the position, Kiffin may also look at the other options on his roster. Ole Miss signed former Louisville Cardinals (9-4) backup quarterback Pierce Clarkson from the transfer portal on Jan. 13.
In his freshman year, Clarkson had a small role with three completed passes for 11 yards. However, Kiffin may see his potential during the offseason and decide if he could start over Simmons.
The Rebels will need the best quarterback on their roster to perform well if they hope to have the top spot in the Southeastern Conference. Simmons’ comments have put the expectation on him to take the Rebels to the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Jan. 19, 2026.