ESPN’s College GameDay is headed back to Oxford, and this one comes with a built-in storyline: Lane Kiffin’s first trip back to Ole Miss as LSU’s coach.
Ole Miss announced Aug. 21 that the pregame show will be in town for the Rebels’ Week 3 meeting with LSU on Sept. 19. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on ABC.
The matchup already had plenty of juice. Kiffin spent six seasons at Ole Miss before leaving after the regular season in 2025 to take the LSU job, and the Rebels went on to reach their first College Football Playoff, advancing to the semifinals.
Now he returns to face the program he left, with Ole Miss ranked No. 10 in the preseason US LBM Poll and LSU sitting at No. 13.
This will be the first College GameDay appearance in Oxford since 2021, when Ole Miss hosted Texas A&M. Kiffin was the guest picker that day. The show also came to The Grove in 2014 for Ole Miss’ game against Alabama, with singer Katy Perry serving as guest picker.
Pete Golding took over in Kiffin’s place and guided the Rebels to two wins in the College Football Playoff. He’ll now get his shot at coaching against Kiffin, along with former Ole Miss offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who also moved to LSU after the CFP.
College GameDay runs from 8-11 a.m. CT and is in its 40th season. The current cast includes Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban and Rece Davis.
The show will first head to Baton Rouge on Sept. 5 for Kiffin’s LSU debut against Clemson, then to Austin on Sept. 12 for No. 4 Texas vs No. 1 Ohio State before making its way to Oxford.
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Lane Kiffins exit from Ole Miss and jump to LSU already had the feel of a rivalry wound that would take time to heal, and now it gets its loudest possible backdrop. ESPN announced that College GameDay will be in Oxford for the Week 3 matchup between Ole Miss and LSU, setting the stage for Kiffins return to Oxford as the opposing coach in a game that will carry far more than its usual SEC weight.
For Rebels fans, the timing could hardly be sharper. The combination of national attention, a packed Oxford atmosphere and Kiffin on the other sideline figures to turn the weekend into a referendum on a coach who left behind plenty of frustration. Even before kickoff, the emotions around this one are already doing the heavy lifting. [Read more 🡒]
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For Ole Miss fans, it is another reminder of how aggressively LSU has attacked its front this spring, with additions coming from Ole Miss and Tennessee alongside a fresh crop of freshmen. The bigger picture is still unfolding, though, because the legal ruling that opened the door for Tuihalamaka is part of a much wider fight over who gets to move, play and keep eligibility in a college game that keeps changing fast. [Read more 🡒]