LSU is officially on the ground in Memphis, with the No. 7 Tigers spending Friday night there before making the short drive to Oxford for Saturday’s top-10 clash with No. 8 Ole Miss.
Memphis is the usual staging point for trips to Oxford, since the town is about an hour and a half away by road and doesn’t have a major commercial airport. From there, LSU will finish the final leg to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff.
This one carries plenty of attention, and not just because both teams are ranked in the top 10. It also sends LSU coach Lane Kiffin back to Oxford for the first time since he left Ole Miss after six seasons to take over the Tigers.
“I know a lot is going to be made about me, but this is about the players being prepared really well and playing really well,” Kiffin said earlier this week. “This is about our guys in their first SEC game.”
The matchup will be the 115th meeting between LSU and Ole Miss, and it comes with a notable wrinkle: it’s the first time both teams have been ranked in the top 10 for the rivalry since 1962.
LSU enters at 2-0 after beating Clemson and Louisiana Tech. Ole Miss is also 2-0 and comes in off a 24-19 win over LSU in Oxford last season.
Oxford has spent the week getting ready for the extra traffic and attention around the game. ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be in the Grove on Saturday morning, and law enforcement agencies are adding officers and security resources across the city and university.
Another key storyline is LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt, whose status was upgraded from doubtful to questionable on Friday. Leavitt returned to practice Thursday after back spasms kept him out Wednesday.
In Other News...
LSU Fans Have One More Reason To Hate This Ole Miss Loss
Ole Miss left Baton Rouge with a 32-24 win over LSU, and Trinidad Chambliss had plenty to do with it. The Rebels quarterback piled up 363 passing yards, threw two touchdown passes and one interception, and also added a rushing score, turning in the kind of all-around performance that made LSU fans swallow a frustrating home loss.
As if the result itself were not enough, Chambliss gave Tigers fans one more annoyance after the final whistle. In a postgame interview with ESPN's Holly Rowe, he let an expletive slip while saying Ole Miss's "Hotty Toddy" cheer, a small moment that only added another layer to an already aggravating night for LSU supporters. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Now Has Two Injury Worries Fans Can't Ignore
LSUs 32-24 loss to Ole Miss was already a frustrating night, and the injury list only added to the concern. Safety Dashawn Spears went down early in the second quarter and was later seen on crutches, while tight end TreyDez Green left in the fourth quarter with a right knee injury after being unable to put weight on his leg.
The Tigers did get a small bit of good news from linebacker TJ Dottery, who was questionable before kickoff but still played and made an impact with five tackles and a pass breakup. Even so, losing two key starters in the same game leaves LSU waiting on answers it could hardly afford to need right now. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffins Family Is Forcing Ole Miss Fans To Confront Something Ugly
The buildup to LSU and Ole Miss has brought the usual noise, but some of it has gone well past football. Lane Kiffins family, including his daughter Landry, has been targeted with inappropriate jokes on social media, a reminder of how quickly rivalry banter can turn ugly when the game is this big. Ahead of a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on ABC, the conversation around this matchup has been complicated by a very different kind of attention.
Layla Kiffin, Lanes ex-wife, posted a message urging kindness, and Landry publicly addressed the offensive comments herself. It is the kind of episode that forces a fan base to confront where the line is, especially when the spotlight on a high-profile coach bleeds into his familys life. The football part of the night still matters, but so does the reminder that not everything attached to a rivalry belongs in the stands or online. [Read more 🡒]