In recent years, faking injuries has become a common tactic in the league. Ole Miss, under head coach Lane Kiffin, has effectively utilized this strategy to win games. As a result, other programs have started adopting it as well. However, the SEC is stepping up on this issue, and it’s getting serious. Coaches are buzzing about a new rule on social media, and it’s been reported by On3. Adding to the buzz, Lane Kiffin’s high school QB son, Knox (class of 2028), stirred the pot by liking the post—sparking even more drama around Kiffin.

It’s no secret that Ole Miss is one of the most blatant users of fake injuries. South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer expressed his frustration and annoyance during a post-game press conference after his team’s 27-3 loss earlier this season. He called out the tactic, highlighting how some teams are unapologetic about using it to disrupt the flow of the game and gain an advantage. Shane even took a bold jab at Lane Kiffin, saying, “It’s fascinating to me how many injuries occur for them after the opposing offense makes a first down.”

Moreover, Lane Kiffin himself employed a fake injury during Ole Miss’ game against Kentucky this past season. Rebels running back Matt Jones went down with an apparent injury after receiving a signal from QB Jaxson Dart on the sideline. This incident attracted attention and sparked controversy, revealing how some teams fully embrace these tactics to disrupt their opponents’ momentum and gain control of the game. However, it appears that coach Kiffin has finally accepted the changes taking place in the world of football.

Lane Kiffin’s take on fake injury rule

Well, the new rule aims at stopping players from faking injuries to halt the clock and give their team more time. From now on, the injured players would need to sit out for the rest of their team’s drive, preventing them from repeatedly going down to stall the game. That might change a lot of things happening during the game. Like coaches can use a timeout to bring the player back onto the field during the same drive, according to the proposed rule. It’s pretty clear that the goal is to eliminate fake injury tactics and keep the game moving without unnecessary delays.

Moreover, this isn’t the first attempt to tackle fake injuries in college football. We just read about Lane Kiffin’s team’s weird injury tactics. However, CFB analyst Matt Austin did point out that the NCAA’s rulebook doesn’t directly address fake injuries, which makes it hard for the officials to penalize the act.

Previous efforts to curb this tactic haven’t worked, which is why the NCAA is pushing for some new rules as a solution. It’s the latest attempt to eliminate stalling and keep the game fair for all teams. But even Coach Kiffin’s excitement over this new change is surprising.

Lane Kiffin’s team has been under scrutiny for messing around with fake injuries since the start of the season. However, with the NCAA rolling out a new set of rules, Kiffin seems to have made peace with the situation. “I’m glad,” Kiffin said of the rule via On3.

“I know some people say, Okay, that sounds weird coming from me. We’re a tempo offense. I’ve been saying this for years, okay, that faking an injury hurts us more than anybody—us and Tennessee—probably more than anybody in America.” Fun fact: The Vols are the ones against whom Ole Miss used fake injuries several times since 2022. Well, let’s see if this new set of rules can change anything in the game for next season or not!