Ole Miss got its first crack at Lane Kiffin on the College GameDay stage, and the opening salvo was loud - just not especially long.
Before the highly anticipated LSU-Ole Miss matchup, fans in Oxford filled the ESPN set at dawn and made sure their feelings about Kiffin were impossible to miss. The Rebels’ crowd had been sitting on that frustration ever since Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU, and Saturday’s atmosphere was supposed to be the first big test of just how hot it would get.
When GameDay kicked off, the reaction came quickly: a “F*** Lane Kiffin” chant rolled through the crowd. It didn’t last long. After about 30 seconds, it faded, and the fans shifted into a Hotty Toddy chant instead.
Pat McAfee highlighted the scene on social media with the caption, “We've been waiting for this particular matchup for a LONG TIME..
This Ole Miss team is ranked in the top ten and the hate for Lane Kiffin is real..
🗣🗣ARE YOU READY #CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/O0JL9CkwQk”
All offseason, Ole Miss fans had talked about turning Saturday into a difficult day for GameDay and for Kiffin after the way the crew discussed his departure. Kiffin also said Nick Saban helped shape his decision to leave.
“I told the story at the press conference, but I was torn. And when I called Coach Saban and talked it through with him, he said, ‘You know, Lane, you’ll always regret if you don’t go to LSU - it’s the best job in America.’”
Nick Saban also addressed the move and the reaction around it.
“Why can’t you win at where you are now? You have a great quarterback.
You have a great running back. You’re in the playoffs.
You have a chance to win the national championship. So why do you have to go someplace else?’
So, but everybody makes their own decision. I don’t tell anybody where to go, but just so everybody knows here, I am used to getting booed in the SEC.”
The noise in Oxford may have been sharp at the start, but Ole Miss is going to need more than chants if it wants the kind of win its fans are chasing. LSU’s defense has been dominant early, pairing with an electric offense, while Pete Golding’s team has already shown some flaws in its lone test against Louisville. That gives Kiffin a clear opening, and he’ll have all the motivation he needs.
Kiffin has had all offseason to sit with the headlines and prepare his team for a road trip where he’ll be the villain. That’s a role he’s usually comfortable in, and Saturday night gives him another chance to lean into it and try to quiet the crowd.
No. 7 LSU and No. 8 Ole Miss are set for a 6:30 PM CT or 7:30 PM ET kickoff on ABC, with College GameDay running live until 11:00 AM CT on ESPN.
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