OXFORD, Mississippi – Ole Miss fans have been waiting for this game since Lane Kiffin left town 10 months ago for LSU, so one more day won’t hurt. But that doesn’t mean the animosity towards his former head coach at Oxford has to calm down before kick-off. It took me about five minutes to walk across campus to start hearing jokes about the guy who used to hang around the Rebels sidelines for six years. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you register or place a bet, FOX News may receive compensation. This content was created by a team working independently of the FOX newsroom. As he returns to Oxford on Saturday afternoon to lead his Tigers into hostile territory, it’s pretty obvious that a large percentage of the fan base still holds a grudge over the way Lane Kiffin fled town after Thanksgiving last year, and just two weeks before the College Football Playoff began. LANE KIFFIN’S RETURN TO OLE MISS COMES WITH BETRAYAL, LAWSUITS AND MEMORIES OF HIM TRYING TO BURN EVERYTHING “Man, I’m not gonna lie. F— Lane Kiffin. Lane Kiffin is ‘K,’ we smoke him bro, no cap,” said one Ole Miss student inside “The Grove” on Friday afternoon. He was not alone in his thoughts, as you might imagine on the Ole Miss campus. “Man, it’s dust,” another Ole Miss student exclaimed. “He’s nothing but dust. He’s defiant and intriguing, he knows what he’s doing, whether it’s putting Leavitt on the injury report or he’s playing. He’s just a bastard.” Lane Kiffin of the LSU Tigers with Landry Kiffin before a game against the Clemson Tigers at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Sept. 5, 2026. (University Images via Getty Images) Oxford is abuzz with excitement ahead of Kiffin’s return and top-10 showdown. On a beautiful but hot Friday afternoon in Oxford, fans flooded the historic square located in the center of Oxford to enjoy some good food and drink. The party atmosphere started on Wednesday night, and I don’t think it will end until Sunday afternoon. No matter what happens on the field inside Vaught Hemingway Stadium on Saturday night, LSU head coach Lane Kiffin will be at the forefront of a hostile environment. At this point, fans expected no less. MOUNTED POLICE, EXTRA PATROLS AND HATE KIFFIN: OXFORD PREPARE FOR OLE MISS-LSU GAME WITH EXTRA SECURITY Months of chatter via social media, Vanity Fair, podcasts and interviews, Lane Kiffin is clearly enjoying the attention he’s attracting ahead of this showdown with his former team. Fans flock to Oxford ahead of LSU’s matchup with Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon. (Via: Trey Wallace. OutKick) And, if anyone thinks differently, they don’t know Kiffin. Think of it like a professional wrestler getting booed in a crowded arena. Now, think of Lane playing the role of Hulk Hogan’s New World Order character. It’s all a show, and Kiffin is selling publicity for his return to Oxford. Consider what happened earlier this week when LSU’s head coach put Sam Leavitt on the initial injury report, listing him as “doubtful,” before upgrading him to “questionable” Thursday night. THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW: UNFILTERED, UNAPPOLOGIZED AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD YOUR DAILY PODCAST NOW! Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding didn’t believe it, not for a minute. “Well, I got the text from Lane before the report came out, like ‘Hey, our quarterback is out,'” Golding mentioned to Pat McAfee. “I said, ‘Okay, buddy, I bet it is.’ I’ve been around a lot of Wednesdays with you for three and a half years. I said, I think the first one had 42 guys on the first SEC injury report on a Wednesday. “So I was like, ‘Yeah, man, see you on Saturday.'” Fans flock to Oxford ahead of LSU’s matchup with Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon. (Via: Trey Wallace. OutKick) There’s going to be trash talk on Saturday that they’d do blushing comedian Most of it will be directed at Lane Kiffin, while LSU fans will no doubt get some heat from the detour CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP But here’s what makes college football so great You’re in for a wild day on the Ole Miss campus, along with the official arrival of the most hated man in the state of Mississippi Trey Wallace is OutKick’s senior college sports reporter.
