“I needed Oxford and Ole Miss a lot more than they needed me,” stated by Lane Kiffin at the start of the 2025 season.
It is no secret all eyes are on Ole Miss this week with the return of Kiffin to Oxford. Ole Miss fans have been counting down the days until this game since his messy exit almost nine months ago.
Here is all there is to know about this long awaited rivalry game.
Kiffin’s Departure
In the middle of the season last year it was a rumor that Kiffin would be leaving Ole Miss. For some time it went back and forth between a few schools, mostly Florida and LSU, but it became apparent it was either him staying at Ole Miss or leaving for LSU.
Only two days after Ole Miss won the Egg bowl it was announced Kiffin was officially leaving to be head coach at LSU. Not only did Kiffin leave, but he took with him offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis.
Kiffin wanted to finish the playoffs with the team, however Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter quickly shut that idea down. That same day, it was announced Pete Golding was the new head coach for Ole Miss.
The Golding Era
When Golding took over for the playoffs last season the team made it all the way to semifinals however ended up losing 39-34 to Miami. During this season under Golding, the team is currently 2-0. Coming into the LSU game Ole Miss has all of its starting players ready to hit the field. Each player has decided to view this as any other game they need to win and to keep any emotions out of it.
LSU Under Kiffin
LSU is currently 2-0 in their season after playing Clemson to start the season and Louisiana Tech last week. LSU recently released that its starting quarterback Sam Leavitt is currently questionable (an upgrade from doubtful in the initial report) to play for the upcoming Ole Miss game. Though Leavitt did not appear injured during the last week’s game, he is apparently dealing with an upper body injury. Should LSU not have its starting QB it could put them at a great disadvantage against Ole Miss.
This game is going to be filled with many emotions. College GameDay is coming to Oxford and it is expected to have police from multiple states here to help control the environment.
With Kiffin returning no one is really sure what to be expecting. This game has been a long awaited moment for many and we can only hope that the Rebels become 3-0 after Saturday night.
