Lane Kiffin didn’t exactly close the book on Auburn’s long-ago pursuit of him. With LSU headed to Jordan-Hare Stadium this week, Kiffin brought it right back up - and said Bruce Pearl was the one who sold him on the place.
When asked Monday whether Jordan-Hare is haunted, Kiffin didn’t hesitate to point to what Pearl told him during Auburn’s coaching search in 2022.
"When Auburn was trying to hire me, Bruce Pearl did tell me that it was (magical), by the way," Kiffin said on Monday. "He was like, 'Hey, you'll get a win here every year that you don't deserve because magical things just happen here.
It's haunted.' So that's where I got that from."
Auburn ultimately didn’t land Kiffin that winter. He stayed at Ole Miss for three more seasons before leaving the Rebels during their CFP run last December for the LSU job. Hugh Freeze ended up getting the Auburn job instead after John Cohen was hired as athletic director.
Now Kiffin is the one looking at Jordan-Hare from the visitor’s sideline, and he’s clear on one thing: it’s not a soft landing spot. After Auburn upset Georgia in Athens last weekend, he’s treating the Tigers like a real threat.
He also used the matchup to make a broader point about the SEC, calling road games in the league brutal no matter where they are played. Kiffin framed it as part of a comparison with the Big Ten, but his message was simple: the middle and bottom of the SEC are still difficult trips.
"So our middle to bottom, whoever you declare those teams, those are still really hard places to play," Kiffin said. "I mean, we haven't won on the road at LSU in 24 months, and there's one other non-conference road game in there...
It was at Clemson, and LSU won. So, I mean, it's real in the conference."
Auburn’s season hasn’t been magical under Freeze, even if Jordan-Hare still carries a reputation. The Tigers beat only Ball State and South Alabama at home before Freeze was fired after a 4-5 start. The Kentucky loss on November 1 was especially brutal, with Auburn entering as a double-digit favorite and still unable to protect its own field.
That’s changed a bit under Alex Golesh, who has already erased some of the habits that dragged down the Freeze era. One sign of that shift: his team has already won more one-score games.
So while Auburn is still trying to rediscover that old Jordan-Hare voodoo, LSU walks into a stadium that Kiffin clearly respects. And with Auburn coming off an upset of Georgia, the Tigers from Baton Rouge won’t be getting a break this weekend.
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Auburns win over No. 1 Georgia in Athens already stood out as one of the seasons biggest shocks, but the finish made it feel even more memorable. The Tigers snapped a long drought with their first victory in Athens since 2005 and their first over Georgia since 2017, and they did it with a last-minute 34-yard field goal that sent the visiting sideline into celebration.
Alex McPherson has been through far more than a pressure kick at the end of a rivalry game. The Auburn kicker battled inflammatory bowel disease and underwent surgery before returning to the field, and head coach Alex Golesh made sure he got the game ball afterward, praising his leadership and perseverance as much as the winning kick itself. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Still Has One Big Xavier Atkins Problem Heading Forward
Xavier Atkins was nowhere to be found when Auburn knocked off No. 1 Georgia on Saturday, and his absence was one of the quieter storylines inside an upset that will be remembered for a long time. The All-SEC linebacker has been central to what Auburn wants to do defensively, so losing him for a game of that magnitude only adds to the uncertainty around a unit that managed to come through anyway.
By Monday afternoon, there still was no update on Atkins status, leaving Auburn to carry the win while also waiting on one of its most important defenders. For a team that just took a major step forward, the lingering question is whether it can keep building on that momentum without knowing when one of its top playmakers will be back in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Is Already Answering Auburn's Biggest Rivalry Win
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Mays currently plays at Northeast Mississippi Community College and brings the kind of profile that can shift an early recruiting board fast. For Auburn, it is another reminder that one big moment in the rivalry does not end the bigger chess match, especially when Georgia is already making its move for one of the cycles most sought-after defensive linemen. [Read more 🡒]