At what moment did new LSU head football coach Lane Kiffin have September 19, 2026 enter into his mind? Was it shortly after boarding the plane in Oxford, Mississippi that would transport him to Baton Rouge? Maybe he thought about it while denying, but still knowing, that the 2025 season would be his last at Johnny Reb U.
Yes, September 26, the significance of it, even the dangers involved with it, most certainly has crossed his mind, probably on a daily basis before, during, and after he made up his mind to bolt from Ole Miss, where he enjoyed celebrity status, adulation, and reverence. Kiffin had restored the Rebel program from decades of mediocrity to heights the program had not enjoyed since the days of John Vaught and national championships.
Between 1959-1962, Ole Miss won three of them. Kiffin had the grandchildren of their grandfathers thinking they were back. All those stories, as told by grandpa around campfires, family barbecues and the barbershop.
The good old days, those days of Rebel glory, rekindled by Count Kiffin, until one day they weren’t, and the Rebs were spurned for perhaps their most fierce SEC rival, those Tigers from Baton Rouge.
What makes September 19, 2026 so important for Hotty Toddy U and, although he’d never admit it publically, so dreadful for Kiffin? That’s when his Tigers must face spurned Ole Miss at the place where tailgating is King, and where Kiffin, now the most hated human being on the face of the earth in the eyes of all Rebels, left the Bride at the altar.
You can rest assured that the ESPN Game Day crew will be there, as well as thousands of vengeful minded, intoxicated Rebs. There’s no way of knowing as of yet, but don’t count out the possibility that Kiffin vs Ole Miss in Oxford might be the most watched college football telecast ever.
A parting word of advice for ‘ole Lane….You might consider arriving a day earlier than your team. If not, then maybe borrow a page from John Vaughts fiercest coaching rival, the venerable Paul “Bear” Bryant. He once had to wear a helmet coming back onto the field after halftime, only maybe this time you should come off the team bus already wearing one. I have a feeling you might need it.
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