LSU is headed to Oxford with plenty of momentum and a little history riding along with it.
After rolling past Louisiana Tech 45-14, the Tigers climbed to No. 7 in the Week 2 AP Poll, one spot up from last week. Ole Miss, LSU’s next opponent, is right there at No. 8, setting up a top-10 showdown that feels rare for this series. It will be the first LSU-Ole Miss matchup with both teams in the top 10 since 1962.
The game carries another layer, too: it will be Lane Kiffin’s first return to Oxford since his acrimonious departure from Ole Miss that reignited the rivalry between the two schools.
Both teams enter Saturday at 2-0, and both have already flashed some punch. Ole Miss opened the season with a 41-38 win over No.
23 Louisville on Sept. 6, then followed it with a 41-9 victory over Charlotte. LSU, meanwhile, has looked sharp in back-to-back wins, beating Clemson 51-10 in Week 1 before taking care of Louisiana Tech.
For LSU, this is also the first road game of the season, which matters in a place where the home crowd has been a major factor. Twelve of the last 14 games between LSU and Ole Miss have gone to the home team, including every meeting since 2021. Last season, the Tigers left Oxford with a 24-19 loss.
Now the rankings, the return to Oxford and the rivalry itself all collide in what should be one of the season’s most watched games.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Family Drama Just Added Another Twist To LSU Week
The LSU-Ole Miss week already had plenty of juice on its own, and Landry Kiffin found a way to make it even more interesting by launching her clothing brand, Fifth Year, with a live sale during the game. The line centers on activewear and gameday apparel, built around college colors and traditions, which makes the timing feel tailor-made for a rivalry weekend that has long carried meaning on both sides.
For LSU fans, the wrinkle is the family connection behind it all. Landrys brand launch lands in the middle of a week tied to both LSU and Ole Miss, a reminder of how closely those schools are woven into her family story. Fifth Year is still in its opening chapter, but the rollout has already given this matchup an extra layer of off-field intrigue. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Ole Miss Rivalry Just Picked Up An Ugly Off Field Twist
Just before LSU lined up to face Ole Miss, one of the Tigers newest defensive additions was dealing with something far less familiar than a game plan. Princewill Umanmielen was served court papers tied to a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Ole Miss, a reminder that this rivalry has spilled well beyond the field and into the legal side of roster movement.
The case also involves Devin Harper, another former Rebel who transferred to LSU, and it asks for nearly $1 million in penalties while trying to sort out revenue-sharing obligations between the schools. For LSU, it adds an uncomfortable layer to a matchup that already carries plenty of edge, with the off-field fallout now hanging over players who made the jump from Oxford to Baton Rouge. [Read more 🡒]
LSUs SEC Standing Suddenly Became A Real Issue Behind The Scenes
A behind-the-scenes hiccup in LSUs SEC relationship surfaced this week when LSU System President Dr. Wade Rousse told Commissioner Greg Sankey the university would not attend a high-stakes league meeting on the advice of legal counsel. The reason was tied to a federal lawsuit involving LSU employees, a complication that forced the school to sit out a gathering it otherwise had every reason to be part of as conference business continued to pile up around college sports.
LSU still stressed that its commitment to the SEC has not changed, and the league moved forward without the Tigers, taking no action to punish the university for the absence. Even so, the timing only added to the tension around a legal dispute over athlete eligibility that remains active and is still working its way through the courts, leaving LSU in the middle of a situation that is far from settled. [Read more 🡒]