Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford ended with Ole Miss having the final word, and Paul Finebaum made it clear he wasn’t buying the postgame sentiment.
No. 4 Ole Miss beat LSU 32-24 on Saturday, snapping the moment shut with an interception in the end zone on the Tigers’ final drive. Kiffin, who spent six seasons coaching the Rebels before leaving for LSU on Nov. 30 of last year, came back to face the program he had guided to an 11-1 regular-season mark before not coaching Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff.
After the loss, Kiffin spoke warmly about his time at Ole Miss and his “gratefulness for this place.”
Finebaum, appearing on ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday, said that didn’t move him at all.
“Lane Kiffin is still the same con man he was before he walked into that stadium, and you just saw it right there in living HD,” Finebaum said. “There’s nothing believable about what he said.”
Finebaum has been taking aim at Kiffin all season, and he doubled down again after watching the LSU coach’s return to Oxford.
The defeat dropped No. 10 LSU to 2-1 heading into its next game against No.
23 Texas A&M. It also left Kiffin 0-4 as a head coach in AP top-10 matchups.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, moved to 3-0 and now turns to Saturday’s trip to face No. 21 Florida in “The Swamp.”
That game is set for 3:30 p.m. ET.
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LSU Loss Puts Sam Leavitt Under A Spotlight He Cant Escape
After LSUs loss to Ole Miss, the focus quickly shifted to Sam Leavitt, and not in a way any quarterback welcomes. Lane Kiffin stepped in to defend him, pointing first to the pressure Ole Miss brought and the way Leavitt had to operate with the rush closing in. Kiffin also made clear that Leavitts legs were a real part of the answer, even if the passing game never found the level LSU needed.
Leavitts performance now sits at the center of a larger conversation about what LSU can and cannot ask of its offense in tough matchups. Kiffins defense of the quarterback offered some context, but it also underscored the bigger issue: the Tigers still need cleaner execution through the air if they want to turn pressure-packed games into wins. [Read more 🡒]