Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford arrives with the kind of buildup college football rarely gets to enjoy twice in one season.
On Saturday night, No. 7 LSU and No.
8 Ole Miss meet in an SEC opener that already feels bigger than the date on the calendar. The Tigers are 2-0.
The Rebels are 2-0. And for the first time since 1962, the border rivals will square off in a top-10 matchup.
That alone would be enough to make this one stand out. But the story around it has been building ever since Kiffin left Ole Miss to take over at LSU just before the Rebels were set to play in the 2025 College Football Playoff. Now the coach who helped shape the Rebels’ recent rise comes back to Oxford leading the Tigers into one of the most anticipated games of the season.
The history between these programs runs deep. LSU and Ole Miss first played in 1894 and have met 113 times since, with the series touching SEC title races, national title races and Heisman debates along the way. Still, this matchup has its own feel because of everything that happened after Kiffin’s move to Baton Rouge.
Both teams have done enough through two weeks to earn the spotlight. LSU opened by hammering Clemson, 51-10, then followed it with a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech.
Ole Miss beat then-No. 24 Louisville 41-38 on a last-second finish and then handled Charlotte 41-9.
Pete Golding knows exactly why the moment has caught fire.
"I think both teams put themselves in a great position to have a top-10 matchup to open up SEC conference play for us at home with College GameDay," said Rebels coach Pete Golding. "If (players) can't get up for this one, I don't know why they play the game.
"There's so much on the line ... and then obviously the former players, former coaches and the relationships that you've had. Obviously, this one is unique."
Kiffin, meanwhile, brushed aside any idea that his team should feel the weight of the week. He made clear he expects the attention to land almost entirely on him.
"I told the players, 'Man, you don't have anything to worry about as far as attention on you all week and everything,'" Kiffin said. "'There's going to be so much attention, hatred, everything on me.
Really, the pressure's on (the Rebels). We won seven games last year.
They won 13. ... You guys just get to go play.'"
He also pointed to the talent Ole Miss still has on offense, including what he described as "two Heisman candidates ... in the same backfield." That means quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, whom Kiffin called "the best-playing quarterback in the country last year," and running back Kewan Lacy.
They’ll have their hands full with an LSU defense that has been stingy from the start. The Tigers lead the country in total defense at 142.5 yards per game and rank second behind Houston in run defense at 18.5 yards per game.
Ole Miss has a dangerous answer of its own in Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt, and Golding has seen enough to know the challenge he brings. Leavitt ranks sixth nationally in total offense at 354.5 yards per game. He also shares third in the country and leads all quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns, though he has thrown four interceptions, including three in the first half last week.
"I've just been really impressed with his athleticism once he decides to become a runner," Golding said. "I think it's going to be really important to try to make him become a pocket passer."
In Other News...
LSU Fans Are Facing A Brutal Price To See This Ole Miss Showdown
The buzz around Saturdays LSU trip to Oxford has already spilled well beyond the field, and the price of admission makes that clear. With two top-10 teams meeting at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and ESPNs College GameDay in town, the market for Ole Miss showdown has been pushed into another tier, with the cheapest available seats on SeatGeek sitting around $467 with fees.
For LSU fans, the sting only gets worse from there, since secondary-market listings show a median ticket price of $862. Add in Lane Kiffins return to Ole Miss as LSUs head coach and it is easy to see why this one has the feel of a marquee event, even before a snap is taken at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Sam Leavitt Just Became LSUs Biggest Concern At Ole Miss
Rece Davis has already put a spotlight on LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt ahead of the Tigers trip to Ole Miss, and the concern is less about raw talent than whether he can keep the offense on schedule. The ESPN College GameDay host questioned Leavitts ability to avoid mistakes and operate cleanly as a passer, pointing back to the kind of turnover issues that can quickly change a game.
For Ole Miss, that makes the quarterback matchup one of the central story lines to watch. If Leavitt presses or gives the Rebels extra chances, it could tilt the game in a hurry, which is exactly why his decision-making is drawing so much attention before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fans Can't Ignore What Overshadowed This 2-0 Start
Ole Miss rolled to a 41-9 win over Charlotte and stretched its home winning streak to 13 straight, with Trinidad Chambliss, Deuce Knight and Kewan Lacy helping drive a performance that left the Rebels sitting at 2-0. Pete Golding had plenty to like about how his team handled business on the field, especially with the offense and defense both setting the tone in a routine-looking victory.
Still, the scene around the stadium carried a jarring distraction before kickoff, when a physical altercation broke out between two Ole Miss fans at a pregame tailgate and campus police had to step in. It was the kind of episode that cut against the celebratory feel of an early-season home game, and it ensured the afternoon would be remembered for more than just the final score. [Read more 🡒]