Lane Kiffin might’ve changed zip codes, but he hasn’t let go of Ole Miss-not by a long shot. Now the head coach at LSU, Kiffin is still making noise about his old program, and this week, he made sure everyone knew that the Rebels still matter to him. Just not in the way they used to.
It all started with a social media post ranking the top 15 rivalries in college football. The usual suspects were there: Alabama-Auburn’s Iron Bowl at No.
1, Michigan-Ohio State at No. 2, and the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma at No. 3.
The Egg Bowl-Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State-checked in at No.
- But there was one rivalry missing that Kiffin clearly felt deserved a spot: LSU vs.
Ole Miss.
In a now-deleted comment, Kiffin fired off a pointed response: “don’t tell me lsu and ole miss is not there.”
That one line said plenty. Kiffin may have deleted the comment, but the message was loud and clear: this matchup just got personal.
And why wouldn’t it? Kiffin didn’t just leave Oxford for Baton Rouge-he brought a significant chunk of Ole Miss with him.
Since arriving at LSU, he’s signed a staggering 42 players through the transfer portal, obliterating the previous school record of 18 set by Brian Kelly. Nine of those transfers are ranked among the top 100 nationally, and multiple outlets have LSU’s portal class sitting atop the country.
Among the transfers? Former Ole Miss edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, who notched nine sacks last season and is widely considered one of the top five players in the entire class.
Wide receiver Winston Watkins also made the trip from Oxford to Baton Rouge. And that’s just the beginning.
Kiffin didn’t just poach from his old roster-he went nationwide, landing big names like Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt and Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton.
The result? A roster that’s not just reloaded-it’s potentially the best in college football.
So when Kiffin says LSU vs. Ole Miss should be counted among the sport’s top rivalries, he’s not just talking history-he’s talking heat. He’s talking about a matchup that now carries real emotion, real stakes, and a whole lot of unsettled business.
This isn’t just another SEC West clash anymore. Kiffin made sure of that.
The moment he hit “post,” even if it was later deleted, he drew a line in the sand. The first time LSU and Ole Miss meet in 2026 won’t just be about standings or playoff implications-it’ll be about pride, legacy, and the fallout from a coach who built a playoff team, walked away, and then took some of its best parts with him.
Ole Miss fans watched it all unfold. They saw their former head coach-who spent years building the program into a contender-walk out the door and then start assembling a powerhouse using pieces of what they helped build. And now that same coach is saying the game against them deserves to be called a rivalry.
It’s not just talk. It’s personal.