Lane Kiffin had LSU on his mind Monday, but Ole Miss and Austin Simmons were never far behind.
Kiffin, now leading the 22nd-ranked Tigers after leaving Oxford late in the 2025 season, was speaking with reporters as LSU prepared to try to rebound from its loss at Kentucky against No. 16 Mississippi State in Week 7. The conversation eventually swung back to the school he used to coach and the quarterback he used to coach there, too.
Simmons spent 2023-25 at Ole Miss before transferring to Mizzou, and his new team heads to Oxford on Saturday for a ranked SEC matchup with the ninth-ranked Rebels. The 13th-ranked Tigers and Ole Miss will put Simmons right back in the spotlight in the city where he spent three seasons with Kiffin, with the added twist that Kiffin himself made a return to Oxford earlier this season when LSU played and lost there.
Asked Monday about Simmons, Kiffin turned the moment into a joke at Ole Miss’s expense.
“Is that tampering if I talk about another player in college? I don’t know anymore,” said Lane Kiffin, in a little, not-so-playful nudge toward Ole Miss.
“Is there really tampering anyway? Speaking of one of those two schools.
… Does it matter if you tamper? Is there actually a penalty?
So, I guess I’ll comment on it. I love Austin.
I think Austin’s a first-round draft pick. I’ve said that the whole time through.”
Now Simmons gets his turn in Oxford, this time with Mizzou trying to knock off the Rebels on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Heads Into A Playoff-Shaping SEC Test With Extra Heat
Week 7 brings a big one to Columbia, with Missouri and Ole Miss meeting in a game that carries real weight for the SEC race and the College Football Playoff picture. Both teams have just one loss, and both are staring at a demanding stretch ahead, which only adds to the pressure on a matchup that already feels like more than a midseason test.
Austin Simmons brings an extra layer to it for Missouri after transferring from Ole Miss, and he has settled in nicely alongside running back Jamal Roberts. On the other side, Ole Miss arrives off a win over Vanderbilt with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss keeping the Rebels on track, setting up a meeting that has plenty of football stakes and a little added edge. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou May Have Found Its Third-Down Answer In SEC Play
For Missouri, the difference on offense in the win over Texas A&M came on the downs that usually decide whether drives survive or stall. Austin Simmons and Cayden Lee were central to the Tigers pivotal touchdown march, helping turn third-down snaps into momentum at a point in the game when Mizzou was putting distance between itself and the Aggies in a 27-6 victory.
Simmons and Lee have become the SECs most reliable third-down tandem this season, and that matters because Missouri has not been consistently explosive enough to live comfortably without extending possessions. The Tigers have converted 35 of 82 third-down attempts overall, and with conference play underway, their ability to keep finding answers in those spots may be the cleanest path to steady offensive production. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Brings A Dangerous Twist To This Huge Oxford Test
Missouri heads to Oxford carrying real momentum and a little extra edge, too. The 13th-ranked Tigers have stacked up quality wins over Florida and Texas A&M, and now they walk into one of the SECs tougher road environments with a roster wrinkle Ole Miss cannot ignore. Former Rebels Austin Simmons and Cayden Lee are now key pieces for Missouri, adding familiarity, motivation and an unusually personal layer to a game that already carried plenty of weight.
Simmons has been central to that surge, earning SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors twice this season and giving Missouri the kind of production that can tilt a big conference test. For Ole Miss, the challenge is not just dealing with a ranked opponent playing with confidence. It is also trying to sort out two former players who know the place, know the atmosphere and arrive in Oxford with enough momentum to make this feel like more than a routine SEC matchup. [Read more 🡒]