LSU coach Lane Kiffin’s eagerly awaited return to Mississippi to face the program he spurned last year is finally at hand — and plum full of plot lines, intrigue and hype.
asserted
he → await → lines
The matchup Saturday night between the No. 7 Tigers (2-0) and No. 8 Rebels (2-0) transcends sport in many ways, with sideshows including, but limited to:
— Suspiciously timed legal action.
— Unprecedented security preparations.
asserted
sideshows → transcend → preparations
— Players who switched sides in a historic rivalry.
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who → switch → rivalry
— A social media post by Kiffin’s daughter, Landry, in response to a bedsheet billboard on the Ole Miss campus that was designed to embarrass her (she remains enrolled at Ole Miss, but is finishing her degree online from Baton Rouge).
asserted
she → design → Rouge
The packed crowd expected at 64,000-seat Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will represent a fraction of the 100,000 or so people that police in Oxford, Mississippi, say they expect to converge this weekend on their town of about 26,000.
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they → expect → 26,000
A deluge of media requests to cover the game forced the school to provide overflow workspace in a neighboring basketball arena.
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deluge → cover → arena
Mississippi State Police have tripled usual game-day reinforcements.
asserted
Police → triple → reinforcements
Mounted police from Alabama also plan to help.
asserted
police → plan → Alabama
Meanwhile, the reputations of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and some of his top political allies are tied to Kiffin’s ability to win big games like this after they forced a leadership change at LSU’s athletic department and poached Kiffin from Ole Miss.
“Don’t lose to Ole Miss,” said LSU graduate and political pundit James Carville.
asserted
Carville → tie → Miss
“That’s all I can say.”
asserted
I → ’ → ?
Kiffin suggested that LSU players won’t be fazed by the voluminous intrigue surrounding their visit to Ole Miss, or the “hatred” he predicted will be directed at him.
uncertain
he → suggest → him
“They know what they’re getting into,” Kiffin said, explaining why players he recruits respond well to the chaos that seems to follow him.
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that → know → him
And as much as we choose them, they choose us also.”
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they → choose → us
The Tigers don’t sound worried about their coach either, as Kiffin returns to a place where he spent six seasons — and memorably left just as the Rebels were about to enter the 2025 College Football Playoff.
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Rebels → sound → Playoff
“I know he’s going to get it and I know they don’t like him up there, but he’s prepared for that,” Tigers linebacker Whit Weeks said.
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Weeks → know → that
“He’s done it before in his career.
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He → do → career
So I know he is more prepared than anybody.”
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he → know → anybody
Weeks was referring to when Kiffin — as Ole Miss coach in 2021 — was pelted by objects (including a golf ball and mustard container) thrown by fans at Tennessee, another former employer that Kiffin abruptly left.
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Kiffin → refer → that
Kiffin’s successor at Ole Miss, Pete Golding, has been trying to tell anyone who’ll listen that the Rebels’ season “does not begin or end” with a Week 3 game against Kiffin’s Tigers, even if he knows it’s “the one they all want to talk about.”
asserted
they → try → Tigers
But Golding concedes that it is still a big game — a conference opener that ultimately could have CFP implications.
uncertain
that → concede → implications
“We’re locked in and focused,” Golding asserted.
asserted
Golding → lock → ?
LSU’s QB suddenly appears on an injury report
Quarterback Sam Leavitt, a transfer from Arizona State who ran for five touchdowns and passed for two scores in LSU’s opening two games, appeared on an injury report Wednesday night.
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who → appear → report
His injury wasn’t specified, but he was listed as “doubtful,” which under SEC rules is supposed to mean a 25% chance or less of playing.
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he → specify → playing
SEC policies give Commissioner Greg Sankey discretion to punish coaches who misuse the injury report in an attempt to mislead an opponent.
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who → give → opponent
The SEC has yet to sanction a member team for such gamesmanship since the league began requiring what it calls “availability reports” in 2024.
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it → have → 2024
But if Sankey were to determine that’s what happened, his decision about whether to punish LSU would come in the wake of an acrimonious legal standoff over Kiffin’s since-abandoned bid to bolster the Tigers’ roster with two ex-Ole Miss players who turned pro last spring and spent part of the offseason under contract with NFL clubs.
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who → determine → clubs
LSU’s backup options at QB include Southern California transfer Husan Longstreet or Elon transfer Landen Clark.
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options → include → Longstreet
Several LSU standouts were Rebels last season
Four ex-Mississippi players followed Kiffin to LSU last offseason.
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players → follow → LSU
In July, Ole Miss sued Umanmielen, demanding he reimburse $550,000 in revenue sharing because of his decision to transfer.
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he → sue → decision
Earlier this week, Umanmielen, who now leads the Tigers with five sacks, was served outside LSU’s football operations building.
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who → lead → building
Kiffin and Golding remain friends
Golding downplays any animosity toward Kiffin that may exist inside the Rebels’ program.
uncertain
that → remain → program
“Lane and I are friends, definitely,” Golding said.
asserted
Golding → say → ?
“It’s like golf; you want to compete against your friends.”
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you → ’ → friends
Kiffin, who lured Golding from Alabama to Ole Miss in 2023, showered compliments on his former defensive coordinator.
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who → lure → coordinator
“He reminds me of my dad,” said Kiffin, whose father, Monte, coached in college and the NFL.
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father → remind → college
“He coaches really, really hard on the field, but then loves them up, too, so they know he really cares.
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he → coach → them
“He’s done a great job,” Kiffin added.
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Kiffin → do → job
Both offenses have explosive potential
Led by dynamic QB Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss has averaged 454 yards per game.
asserted
Miss → have → game
“If you look at Trinidad and Kewan last year, there’s very few negative plays at all,” said Kiffin, who recruited both players to Mississippi.
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who → look → Mississippi
Even when blocking breaks down, Kiffin said, “Kewan makes the guy miss and Trinidad scrambles around.”
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Trinidad → break → ?
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
