The Rebels have a rare kind of Saturday on the schedule.
No. 8 Ole Miss hosts No. 7 LSU at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and both teams are ranked inside the AP Top 10.
That makes it the first top-10 showdown between the schools since Nov. 3, 1962. Only five earlier meetings featured two teams inside the AP Top 10.
The stakes go beyond pride. The result could shape the College Football Playoff picture. It’s also the SEC opener for both teams, and ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be there too.
The game starts at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 19. Fans who can’t make it to the stadium can watch on ABC and ESPN.
There’s a new twist this year. Lane Kiffin, who once coached Ole Miss, joined LSU late last season. A handful of former Ole Miss players are now at LSU too, which adds a layer to the rivalry.
Last year’s game went to the home team. No. 13 Ole Miss beat No. 4 LSU 24-19 in Oxford on Sept. 27, 2025. Running back Kewan Lacy leaped over a defender during that game.
The rankings tell their own story. Last year LSU came in at No. 4 and Ole Miss at No. 13, a gap of nine spots. This time only one spot separates the teams, with the Rebels at No. 8 and the Tigers at No. 7.
Rivalry history and record
LSU still holds the edge overall. The Tigers lead the series 64-43-4, and the Rebels come in on a one-game winning streak.
Saturday’s game will be No. 115 in the series. Fifteen of their games have featured two teams from the AP Top 25.
The two campuses sit roughly 320 miles apart on Interstate 55, so LSU has a long trip north.
The last top-10 game was played in Baton Rouge. The No. 6 Rebels beat No. 4 LSU 15-7 that day.
The 1962 Rebels went 10-0-1 with Johnny Vaught leading the way. No other Ole Miss team has gone a full season without a loss.
The Rebs also beat No. 6 Arkansas 17-13 in the Sugar Bowl that year. It remains the program’s latest national title claim.
Back-to-back wins over LSU have been hard to find. The Rebels haven’t beaten LSU in consecutive meetings since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
What a win could mean
Those wins came in 2008 and 2009. Ole Miss beat No. 18 LSU 31-13 in Baton Rouge in 2008. It followed with a 25-23 win over No. 10 LSU in Oxford in 2009.
Ole Miss was unranked in both of those years. This time the Rebels are No. 8.
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and Lacy reacted together in the fourth quarter against Charlotte at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. That’s the same field where Saturday’s game will be played.
A win would give Ole Miss a strong start to SEC play. Saturday also offers the Rebels several routes to a place in rivalry history.
It could end up among the most important games of the college football year. That’s a fair way to look at a matchup with this much attached to it.
Six decades later, the Tigers and Rebs get another top-10 meeting.
