Lane Kiffin’s return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium carried the kind of edge you’d expect when a coach comes back to face the program he spent six seasons building.
Even before kickoff, the mood was already charged. Kiffin pointed out that it took his departure for the stadium to be packed an hour before game time. Later, after LSU’s pregame warmups, he tossed a football into the stands as he walked off the field.
The feeling didn’t fade once the game started, and it certainly didn’t disappear after Ole Miss beat LSU, 32-24.
Video from after the final whistle showed Rebels linebacker Suntarine Perkins standing in Kiffin’s path as the LSU coach tried to leave the field. Perkins smiled at him before an officer moved him aside.
Another player - it appeared to be running back Kewan Lacy - was also in Kiffin’s way. The clip also showed senior defensive tackle Jamarious Brown hugging Kiffin early in the sequence, a reminder that the reunion wasn’t purely hostile.
Trinidad Chambliss said the emotions were real on his side, too. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and admitted he may have glanced toward the LSU sideline during the game.
"Just a lot of emotions throughout this game," Chambliss told reporters after the game. "You kind of black out when you’re playing a big game in front of so many people, just a lot riding on it.
So yeah, I might have been looking over at that sideline. Just the emotions kind of came out.
"It’s definitely weird. It was different seeing him, I guess run out and seeing him in purple and gold and seeing some of the other coaches on the other sideline with another team.
… I wasn’t able to catch him after the game. There was just a lot going on.
I think he got out of there pretty quickly."
In Other News...
LSU Fans Were Shaken By A Frightening Scene Above Saturday's Game
A strange scene in the sky briefly overshadowed part of Saturdays Ole Miss-LSU matchup, when a helicopter flew very close to an ESPN camera drone providing aerial shots over the stadium. The moment was caught on video and quickly spread across social media, where fans reacted with a mix of surprise and concern at how close the aircraft appeared to come to the drone.
The footage also drew attention from a helicopter pilot who weighed in online, adding to the unease around a moment that could have gone very differently. No collision occurred, and the game carried on without further incident, but the clip gave viewers one more thing to talk about from an already intense SEC setting. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Fans Will Have Plenty To Say About This ESPN Sideline Moment
Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge were both on the sidelines for ESPNs coverage of LSUs trip to Ole Miss, with Rowe tracking injury updates and Rutledge handling live field reports as the game unfolded. A short on-air transition from one reporter to the other quickly took off on social media, giving viewers another angle to talk about from a game that already carried plenty of attention in the SEC spotlight.
Rowes presence also comes with some added context after her name circulated earlier this year in connection with a false AI-generated video and the public apologies that followed from Texas quarterback Arch Manning and coach Steve Sarkisian. On this night, though, she was back doing what she does best, finishing the assignment with a postgame interview after Ole Miss took care of LSU. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Loss Ended With An Awkward Ole Miss Moment Fans Noticed
Holly Rowe was back on the field Saturday night for LSU vs. Ole Miss, and the Rebels gave her plenty to work with in a 32-24 win that had all the drama a rivalry game can ask for. Trinidad Chambliss led the offense with 363 passing yards and three touchdowns, added a key rushing score, and Jaylon Braxton delivered the game-winning interception to seal it for Ole Miss.
The final whistle, though, was not the only moment fans noticed. During a live postgame interview with Rowe, Chambliss blurted out an expletive in the heat of the moment before later apologizing publicly to her and to viewers. It was an awkward end to an otherwise clean finish for the Rebels, and the kind of on-camera slip that tends to linger a little longer after a big road win. [Read more 🡒]