As a connoisseur of holiday favorites this time of year, why not incorporate a personal cartoon favorite into the college football stratosphere before the College Football Playoff and bowl season kicks into high gear? You see, the Grinch’s backstory is a sad one, stemming from being teased as a child for his appearance, leading to a life of reclusiveness as someone who hated the joy associated with celebrations.
There are a couple college football-level outcasts coming out of the 2025 season, too. They’re not as ugly as their green counterpart, but provided ample reasons to be despised by fans, viewers and others associated with the sport.
This one’s meant to be somewhat satirical and light-hearted, but if it makes you feel some type of way it might be time to look in a mirror and get in a more festive spirit before the in-laws arrive!
Lane Kiffin, newly named LSU coach
“Deplorable rubbish” is a memorable phrase from the 1966 “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” theme song that describes the rotten soul of the green, big-bellied monster who lives on a mountain overlooking Whoville. That’s also akin to how Ole Miss fans feel about Kiffin this Christmas following his departure to LSU. For weeks, Kiffin left the Rebels in the dark on his decision and waited until Thanksgiving weekend to deliver the news. “Hot yoga” became part of SEC vernacular and Ole Miss even had to pay Kiffin a hefty bonus following its first-round playoff win over Tulane. So, the Grinch got a raise, additional recruiting resources and another check to cash before assuming his throne inside Mount Crumpit.
By the way, Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter’s decision to tell Kiffin to kick rocks and book it to Baton Rouge rather than stick around for the Rebels’ playoff run was the right call. Going in the other direction would’ve been like your girlfriend breaking up with you ahead of senior prom and still lending her hand before the dance as a pair — you just don’t do it.
Pete Bevacqua, Notre Dame athletic director
For the bowl season purists out there, Bevacqua’s hissy fit following the Fighting Irish’s exclusion from the College Football Playoff leading to an unexpected postseason opt-out was disappointing across the board. Notre Dame wasn’t invited to the 12-team Christmas party, so its answer was to raise hell kicking and screaming. Where’s the holiday cheer? Instead of a possible Notre Dame vs. BYU matchup in the Pop-Tarts Bowl, we were saddled with 72 hours of fallout on why the university’s relationship with the ACC was in disarray and how the Fighting Irish deserved better.
Notre Dame’s elitist move was later magnified by news of its deal with the playoff for 2026 and beyond, guaranteeing entry into the field if it ranks inside the top 12. No wonder there are reports of teams potentially backing out of future scheduling with the Independent. No program in college football has a deal this sweet thanks to a memorandum of understanding.
From beloved to extremely tiring in the blink of an eye, Pavia’s schtick was fun until he was forced into an apology following the Heisman Trophy ceremony. The SEC Player of the Year re-posted an image from comedian Theo Von on Instagram showing himself with family and friends on the red carpet with the caption: “F-ALL THE VOTERS, BUT … FAMILY FOR LIFE” with a thumbs down emoji, sparking outrage nationally. Rece Davis said he regretted voting for Pavia at the top of his Heisman ballot following his behavior and was relieved Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza won.
Clark Lea said the situation should be viewed through a lens of grace and folks need to understand that Pavia’s actions are not a reflection of who he is as a person. Or, like the Grinch, perhaps his heart is three sizes too small and humility goes a long way. I’d argue this is an accurate depiction of college football’s too-much, too-fast athlete in the NIL era. It’s one thing to react quickly on social media, but there was also an inflammatory Indiana sign that Pavia carried around a club in NYC, clearly a planned charade. The dual-threat quarterback, who has taken the Commodores to new heights this season, will be playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 against Iowa for those interested.
There’s a reason the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator earned the nickname “teapot” from quarterbacks Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer during his time in the NFL. Asked earlier this season to direct a message to fans on how he was going to end Boston College’s eight-game losing streak and fix program-wide issues, O’Brien flipped on a local reporter. The rant quickly went viral:
“You know, I’m glad you’re down. I’m not down. Nobody’s down,” O’Brien said in a fiery manner. “We’re fighting, we’re competing. It’s the second year of this program, Mike. You always come in here with these down questions. You show up like once a month or something like that, and come in here with these down questions. I’m not down. I don’t know what year you graduated from BC, but this is a program that we’re building. Nobody here is down. We’re positive, we’re gonna show up and play our a** off against SMU. You can go out there in your dark clouded world or whatever it is, and do what you wanna do. We’re not down. The sun is up, and we’re fighting. That’s my message to the fans.”
The Eagles would go on to lose that game to SMU, 45-13, and finished 2-10 on the year.
Mack Rhoades, former CFP committee chair
Imagine being in the shoes of Hunter Yurachek, the Arkansas athletic director who was propped up in front of viewers every Tuesday night for a month straight in the middle of his own coaching search with the Razorbacks. Yurachek was placed in a no-win situation after Rhoades’ unexpected leave of absence following the second CFP Rankings release. One week after stepping down as selection committee chair, Rhoades was fired at Baylor as the result of an internal investigation. Would Rhoades have been able to give us a more thorough explanation on why Notre Dame was ranked ahead of Miami for so long despite the head-to-head result before the rankings switched the final weekend when both teams were idle? That’s hard to say, but bailing on what was unquestionably the poorest-led CFP committee in playoff history rests at his feet this season.
