College GameDay had an easy call to make for Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford.
The 2025 college football season was already getting swallowed up by coaching drama when Kiffin turned the sport into a weekly soap opera. Ole Miss was pushing toward the College Football Playoff, but the bigger storyline around the Egg Bowl week wasn’t the rivalry. It was whether Kiffin was going to take another job.
LSU and Florida were both chasing him, and Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter wanted answers. ESPN’s Marty Smith seemed to spend the better part of a month in Oxford while Kiffin weighed his future, and once the head coach chose to head to Baton Rouge, everything blew up.
What had made Kiffin such a beloved figure in Oxford flipped fast. He boarded the plane to Baton Rouge and instantly became the villain, and the assistants who went with him took plenty of heat too. Ole Miss then handed the team over to Pete Golding, since the program wouldn’t let Kiffin coach in the Playoff, and Golding nearly carried the Rebels to the National Championship.
That’s part of why the return trip matters so much. Kiffin will have to face Ole Miss again in Oxford in 2026, and the reception figures to be as loud as anything college football has seen in a while.
On Friday morning, ESPN made it official: College GameDay is heading to Oxford for Ole Miss vs. LSU in Week 3.
There was really no other destination that made sense. This is the kind of matchup that can dominate a season, not just a Saturday. The rivalry itself brings plenty of edge, but Kiffin’s first game back at his old stop gives it another layer entirely.
He helped rebuild Ole Miss into a program that could chase the College Football Playoff year after year, and Rebels fans believed they were giving him the chance to restore his reputation as a Power 4 head coach. Instead, once he became a hotter name again, he moved on.
College football has already seen what that kind of homecoming can look like. When Kiffin went back to Tennessee, first as Alabama’s offensive coordinator and later as Ole Miss’ head coach, the crowd made its feelings known by throwing everything from golf balls to mustard bottles at him. And that was years after he left Knoxville.
This one comes much sooner, which is why the reaction in Oxford is expected to be even nastier. Booing probably won’t be enough.
For College GameDay, it’s the perfect setup: a major game and a whole lot of theater. LSU is getting the spotlight, and Kiffin’s return is giving it all the fuel it needs.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Heads Into Louisville Week With Key Camp Battles Still Open
Ole Miss is wrapping up fall camp with one last media-accessible practice before the focus shifts fully to Louisville, and the picture emerging out of August is one of a roster still sorting out a few important spots. Defensive coordinator Bryan Brown has sounded encouraged about the groups potential to take a step forward from the 2024 unit, pointing to better depth as a reason for optimism as the Rebels head into the opener.
There are still decisions to make, though, and the two biggest ones are on offense. The backup quarterback race has centered on AJ Maddox and Auburn transfer Deuce Knight, with Knight appearing to have the edge because of how quickly he has developed and how well his skill set fits. Ole Miss is also weighing its right tackle options, with Tommy Kinsler IV and Carius Curne both in the mix as the staff tries to settle the line before game week fully takes over. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Saw An Old Defensive End Twist Help LSU Fast
A Louisiana judges temporary restraining orders have already started to ripple through college football, and LSU was quick to take advantage. The Tigers were able to add Notre Dame transfer Junior Tuihalamaka to their roster under the ruling, another move in an offseason that has seen their defensive line get a major makeover through the portal and the recruiting trail.
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 🡒]
Ole Miss Still Has One Crucial O-Line Call Before Week 1
Ole Miss enters the 2026 season with a familiar kind of offensive-line question, and it comes at one of the most important spots on the field. The Rebels have to replace Diego Pounds and Jayden Williams after both moved on to the NFL, and the spot drawing the most attention is right tackle, where Carius Curne and Tommy Kinsler IV are battling to win the job. With quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy back as Heisman candidates, the lines ability to keep that offense moving is going to matter from the jump.
Kinsler arrives from Miami and Curne from LSU as the two transfer additions charged with helping stabilize the front, but Ole Miss still needs to settle which one gives it the better answer on the edge. The Rebels have the kind of returning talent that can make the offense one of the SECs most dangerous units, but only if the protection is there. Week 1 will bring the first real look at whether that right side is ready, or whether this remains the lineups biggest unresolved piece. [Read more 🡒]