One of the biggest games on the 2026 college football calendar is set for Week 3, and it comes with a familiar face walking back into Oxford.
On Saturday, Lane Kiffin returns to face Ole Miss as the head coach of the No. 7 LSU Tigers, who will meet the No.
8 Rebels in a top-10 Magnolia Bowl showdown. Before the game kicks off, ESPN’s Bill Connelly has already put a number on it: SP+ projects LSU to win 29-22.
That model, which Connelly originally developed before joining ESPN and previously housed at Football Outsiders, is built as a tempo- and opponent-adjusted efficiency measure. It has become a go-to tool for college football bettors because of the way it lines up projected scores with the spread and total.
In this matchup, SP+ points toward LSU and the under. The market on Kalshi has LSU favored by 2.5 points, while the over/under sits at 58.5 total points.
Both teams come in at 2-0, and both have already handled ACC opponents in Week 1 before cruising through tune-up games the following week.
LSU opened the Kiffin era with a stunning 51-10 rout of Clemson, then followed that up with a 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech.
Ole Miss started its season by edging ranked Louisville 41-38, then backed that up with a 41-9 win over Charlotte under Pete Golding.
Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC.
In Other News...
LSU Heads Into A Lane Kiffin Showdown With Extra Emotion
Week 3 in Oxford already had enough juice on its own, and now Ole Miss is getting a nationally televised matchup with LSU that comes with an extra layer of old rivalry baggage. Lane Kiffins return to the other sideline is the obvious headline, but for the Rebels, the conversation inside the building still centers on the game itself and the chance to handle a big stage at home.
Trinidad Chambliss said the setup feels "weird," which is about as candid a description as you could expect from a quarterback trying to keep the focus where it belongs. Ole Miss has plenty of reasons to be locked in with the attention surrounding LSU and Kiffin, but Chambliss made it clear the Rebels are treating it like football first, storyline second. [Read more 🡒]
DeZhaun Striblings NFL Injury May Be More Serious Than It First Seemed
Former Ole Miss receiver DeZhaun Stribling is facing a longer road than the initial diagnosis suggested after suffering a deltoid sprain in his ankle during the San Francisco 49ers season opener. He is expected to miss at least a month, and while surgery is not currently planned, he is still gathering additional medical opinions as the recovery picture comes into focus.
For the 49ers, the concern is not just the immediate absence but the possibility that the injury is more severe than first believed. Some analysts have suggested it could be a Grade 3 sprain, which would push the timeline beyond the early estimate and could stretch the setback to two months or more if surgery ultimately becomes necessary. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Just Added More Tension To LSU's Return To Oxford
LSUs 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech still came with enough rough edges to keep the focus on what comes next, and that matters with Ole Miss waiting in Oxford. Sam Leavitts three interceptions were part of a sloppy stretch that kept the Tigers from looking fully polished, even in a lopsided result, and the conversation around the game quickly turned from the score to how well it might sharpen LSU before a tougher SEC test.
Lane Kiffin, now back on the other side of this rivalry, has only added to the intrigue around the return trip to Oxford. He left Ole Miss before the College Football Playoff, with Pete Golding taking over and guiding the Rebels through CFP wins before the run ended in the semifinals, so this matchup already carries some built-in edge. With LSU showing cracks at an awkward time and Kiffin back in the mix, the game has picked up another layer of tension before the teams even kick off. [Read more 🡒]