The 2025 college football season was quickly overshadowed by the upcoming coaching carousel when Lane Kiffin took the sport hostage. Even with Ole Miss well on it's way to the College Football Playoff, the biggest question the week of The Egg Bowl wasn't about the rivalry, but over whether or not Lane Kiffin was going to take another job.
Lane Kiffin had been entertaining LSU and Florida's interest in hiring him, and it came to a head when Ole Miss AD Keith Carter wanted clarity from Kiffin. ESPN's Marty Smith seemingly spent a month in Oxford as Kiffin tried to make a decision, and when the head coach decided to leave for Baton Rouge, chaos ensued.
The hero of Ole Miss football quickly became a villain when Lane Kiffin boarded the plane to Baton Rouge, and every assistant that got on the plane with him was quickly hated. Pete Golding took over Kiffin's team when Ole Miss decided they wouldn't let him coach in the Playoff, and nearly brought the Rebels to the National Championship.
Part of what made Lane Kiffin's decision so entertaining was the fact that he would have to face his former program again, and travel to Oxford in 2026.
College GameDay makes Ole Miss-LSU decision official
On Friday Morning, ESPN made the inevitable official, announcing that College GameDay would be traveling to Oxford for Lane Kiffin's return to Ole Miss.
NEW: College GameDay will be in Oxford for Ole Miss vs. LSU in Week 3.https://t.co/n0hyDGlzXT pic.twitter.com/j1uZx9jBSF
— On3 (@On3) August 21, 2026
There was simply no other choice that College GameDay could make as this matchup has the potential to be the biggest of the season. Rivalry games bring plenty of bad blood, but the scene in Oxford when LSU comes to town may be like nothing we've seen in a long time.
Lane Kiffin built Ole Miss back up to the point that the Rebels were becoming a yearly contender for the National Championship. Ole Miss fans feel like they gave Lane Kiffin a chance to rehab his image as a Power 4 head coach, and would've given him anything, yet the moment he became an appealing head coach again he left for greener pastures.
When Lane Kiffin returned to Tennessee first as Alabama's offensive coordinator and then as Ole Miss' head coach, the scene was outrageous. Tennessee fans famously threw everything from golf balls to mustard bottles at their former head coach, and that was plenty of years after he left Knoxville.
Given how recently Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss, the fans are going to let him hear it, and it likely will go beyond just booing him.
College GameDay will be getting both a good game to cover, and some of the best drama the sport has to offer. LSU and Ole Miss will both be contenders for the College Football Playoff, and the team that's able to block out all the noise of the weekend could be well on their way toward competing for a National Championship.
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