LSU Legend Pushes Back on Lane Kiffin Hate as SEC Preseason Poll Ranks Tigers No. 5
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Spurning Ole Miss during their first-ever Playoff run was classic Lane Kiffin. He got his dream job in LSU, but the betrayal followed him west. Now, his reputation precedes him in Baton Rouge.
As preseason rankings roll out, it’s clear the rest of the SEC is fully embracing Kiffin’s villain arc.
On3 released SEC Preseason Poll, and LSU was ranked No. 5. That is a low bar for a program that just brought in top-five recruiting haul, a premier coaching staff, and a proven offensive scheme to Baton Rouge.
LSU legend Tyrann Mathieu believes that the Kiffin hate is the reason.
Tyrann Mathieu Calls out Lane Kiffin Hate
Although having his share of playful back-and-forth with Kiffin over recruiting snub at Tennessee, the LSU icon believes the Tigers will win more games than media gives them credit for.
“Maybe they’ve got a thing against Lane. That type of stuff is — people will sort of harbor those feelings toward you when you don’t do what they thought you should do,” Mathieu said on In The Bayou With Tyrann Mathieu.
“I feel like Lane in particular, once he gets out there and he wins a few games, I think people will sort of back off the Ole Miss thing and how he left,” he says about the Ole Miss grudge.
“I can see why Georgia is as high as they are because you’re banking on their quarterback coming back. And obviously Kirby Smart, they’re always gonna have dogs on defense. But I think LSU, I think that they’ll finish the season probably with more wins than people anticipate.”
Georgia ranked No. 1 on ON3’s preseason polls, followed by Texas, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Each of those programs carries playoff expectations entering August, putting the pressure on Kiffin’s squad to crash the SEC title picture.
Lane Kiffin Confident About LSU’s Wins
GettyLSU Tigers legend Tyrann Mathieu calls out the hate on Lane Kiffin, sets expectations for 2026 season.
It’s only about a month from now that Kiffin’s squad opens againt Clemson on Sept. 6 and show that they can actually win.
Succedding the program after the Brain Kelly era, any losses will be particularly unforgiving for Kiffin from the Tigers fanbase. They too have nothing less than championship-level expectations now after running out of patience with Kelly.
“We put together a roster that can win now,” Kiffin asserted at the SEC Media Days.
“I embrace the expectations at LSU. They match how I think. You have some elite high school players that we just signed, some of the best D-linemen in America to be true freshmen. And then you have some elite first-round portal players coming in.”
Of course Kiffin has confidence in all the talent he has this season. He didn’t just revamp LSU’s offense, he brought in 59 new players, blending 4 five-stars and 22 four-stars between high school and portal ranks.
247 Sports also gave the Tigers’ 2026 class a 349.00 overall score, which is the highest overall ranking in the history of 247Sports.
“It also excited me about the future of LSU, too. Not just this year. We put together a roster that can win now,” Kiffin said.
“The future is really bright and amazing at LSU.”
Like HEAVY's content?Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post LSU Legend Pushes Back on Lane Kiffin Hate as SEC Preseason Poll Ranks Tigers No. 5 appeared first on HEAVY.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos