A frustrated Lane Kiffin accused a Texas Tech linebacker of spitting on one of his players at the Texas Bowl on Wednesday, adding that a racial slur could also have been used.
A skirmish between the Rebels and Red Raiders ensued after Ole Miss’s Dayton Wade fumbled early in the fourth quarter and Texas Tech rallied. A shoving match followed, and ultimately Ole Miss catcher Jordan Watkins was awarded a personal foul penalty.
After the game, which Ole Miss lost 42-25, Kiffin said the penalty should have gone to Texas Tech’s Dimitri Moore, who is the Red Raiders’ No. 11, instead of Watkins, who wears No. 11 for Ole Miss. .
‘They announce our 11, which is Jordan Watkins, who was not in the fight, it was his 11 who was fighting 71 [Ole Miss lineman Jayden Williams] and everybody knew it because his own coaches were yelling at the guy,’ Kiffin said.
A frustrated Lane Kiffin accused a Texas Tech linebacker of spitting on one of his players at the Texas Bowl on Wednesday, adding that a racial slur could also have been used.
“There was a racial slur involved, that’s not the point we’re talking about, [it’s] About the spitting part. I brought our own 71 to the officials, right or wrong, do you see him crying? He’s not crying, not because he was spit on, it’s because something was said.
When asked to clarify whether a Texas Tech player used a racial slur toward one of his players, Kiffin said he wasn’t sure.
‘I’m not going to do it, because I didn’t hear it, [I’m not going to] To say that that happened for sure gave our player a racial slur,’ Kiffin said. ‘They told me that this was said in that [incident] but I didn’t hear that. So obviously it would be a big problem.
Moore and Williams are black.
Texas Tech spokespersons did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
A skirmish between the Rebels and Red Raiders ensued after Ole Miss’s Dayton Wade fumbled early in the fourth quarter and Texas Tech rallied. A shoving match followed, and eventually Ole Miss catcher Jordan Watkins (right) was awarded a personal foul penalty. After the game, Kiffin said the penalty should have gone to Texas Tech’s Dimitri Moore (left), who is number 11 for the Red Raiders, instead of Watkins, who wears number 11 for Ole Miss.
Jordan Watkins #11 of the Mississippi Rebels celebrates his reception for a touchdown ahead of Marquis Waters #9 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the second half at NRG Stadium
Kiffin said he got very upset during the game because he didn’t think it was fair for his player to take a penalty that he thinks clearly should have gone to someone else.
“I’m going to stand up for our players when a kid spits on them and is accused before a national audience that it’s him,” Kiffin said. “So Jordan has to deal with this.”
Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire was not asked about the incident, but Kiffin said he spoke to him about the spitting after the game.
“If you really look there, one of them is laughing because he got off,” Kiffin said. “He’s yelling at the player, they’re going crazy with him… I spoke to the head coach about him afterward, she said, ‘It’s crazy refereeing out there.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, that was really bad on the one where your guy spat and our guy got the penalty.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I know.’
Head coach Joey McGuire of the Texas Tech Red Raiders and head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels shake hands at NRG Stadium Wednesday night.
