Paul Finebaum didn’t leave much room for debate Tuesday morning. On ESPN’s Get Up, he put the weight of Saturday night’s SEC showdown squarely on Lane Kiffin as No.
7 LSU heads to No. 8 Ole Miss.
The matchup is the SEC opener for both 2-0 teams and gets the full primetime treatment on ABC, with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
It also sends Kiffin back to Oxford, where he coached the Rebels from 2020 until late last season, before taking the head coaching job at LSU. That move stirred plenty of controversy, and his return for Week 3 is reportedly bringing beefed-up security concerns as well.
Kiffin said Monday that the pressure was on Ole Miss. Finebaum wasn’t buying it.
“That is not the case whatsoever,” said Finebaum, regarding Kiffin saying on Monday that the pressure was all on Ole Miss. “The pressure is all on him.
He is the one who left them behind. They are the jilted lover.
He ran off to whatever island he decided to build a mansion on, which happened to be in Louisiana. That is just Lane Kiffin being Lane Kiffin.”
Finebaum also told ESPN host Mike Greenberg that Kiffin has to win this one on Saturday night. In his view, this is more than a big game - it’s a must-win for the former Ole Miss coach now leading LSU.
Whatever side you land on in the pressure debate, the stakes are enormous in Oxford. One team is going to leave with a statement win, and one is going to walk out with a loss it will have to sit with.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Family Drama Just Added Another Twist To LSU Week
Landry Kiffin picked a familiar college-football backdrop for the launch of her new clothing brand, Fifth Year, rolling out the live sale during the LSU-Ole Miss game. The brand leans into activewear and gameday apparel, built around college colors and traditions, which makes the timing feel especially on-brand for a family that has spent plenty of time around both sidelines.
For LSU fans, the launch adds another layer to a week already shaped by the Kiffin familys connections to both programs. Landrys ties to LSU and Ole Miss give Fifth Year a built-in crossover appeal, and the coincidence of debuting it on game day only sharpened the spotlight around a matchup that was already going to draw attention well beyond the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Suddenly Has A Huge Ole Miss Question At Quarterback
An already important trip to Ole Miss got more complicated for LSU when quarterback Sam Leavitt was listed as doubtful because of an undisclosed injury. Leavitts availability had been one of the biggest factors in how this matchup was being framed, and his status now hangs over everything LSU is trying to sort out before kickoff.
If Leavitt cannot go, Elon transfer Landen Clark is expected to step in and make the start, which would put a lot more on LSUs shoulders in a tough road environment. The betting line has already moved in Ole Misss favor since the news broke, a pretty clear sign of how much this quarterback situation has changed the outlook for the Tigers. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Ole Miss Rivalry Just Picked Up An Ugly Off Field Twist
The LSU-Ole Miss rivalry already has plenty of edge on the field, but now it has spilled into the courtroom in a way that reaches straight into the Tigers roster. Ole Miss has filed breach-of-contract lawsuits against former Rebels Princewill Umanmielen and Devin Harper after both transferred to LSU, putting a legal wrinkle on what is usually just another bitter SEC football matchup.
Umanmielen was served court papers tied to the lawsuit just before LSUs game against Ole Miss, and he now has to respond with discovery documents as the case moves forward. The suit seeks nearly $1 million in penalties and is aimed at sorting out revenue-sharing obligations between the schools, turning a familiar rivalry into something far messier than a Saturday in Oxford or Baton Rouge. [Read more 🡒]