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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Lane Kiffin is set to make his highly anticipated return to Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday as his LSU Tigers take on his former Ole Miss Rebels.
Kiffin famously left Ole Miss right before the College Football Playoff last season, flying to Baton Rouge just two days after the Rebels' 38-19 win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. Ole Miss was CFP-bound at that point, but that didn't stop Kiffin from hopping on a private jet and leaving the team he built behind. The Rebels carried on without him and went on to beat Tulane and Georgia in the postseason.
Now Kiffin's back in Oxford for what's shaping up to be one of the most emotional returns in college football. There's a lot of animosity from Rebels fans, and everyone's expecting Kiffin to walk into a hostile environment. So, unsurprisingly, Ole Miss will be beefing up security for this one.
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Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen is "pulling out all the stops" to prepare for Saturday's game, including extra horse-mounted patrols throughout town. They stopped short of bringing in the National Guard, something Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry previously joked might be needed to keep Kiffin safe. Landry has reportedly been speaking with Mississippi officials directly to make sure that happens.
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Kiffin signed a seven-year deal worth around $91 million to take over at LSU, then built a roster costing an estimated $40 to $50 million, including top transfers like Sam Leavitt, Jordan Seaton, and Princewill Umanmielen. That was good enough for the top-ranked transfer class in 2026. Second on that list? Ole Miss, with 29 transfer commits.
While the Rebels have brought in new talent of their own, many of Kiffin's former players are still on the roster. Pete Golding is now head coach after serving as an assistant under Kiffin for years, and Ole Miss has fully committed to him as the guy going forward.
Both the Tigers (No. 7) and the Rebels (No. 8) are ranked inside the top 10 and enter Saturday undefeated at 2-0. LSU is currently a 3-point favorite on the road, but Ole Miss has proven it can hang with anyone, even without Kiffin. This is shaping up to be one of the best games of the season, and a loss for either side could prove costly.
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