LSU coach Lane Kiffin's return to Ole Miss was defined by Trinidad Chambliss – the Rebels QB he left behind
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LSU coach Lane Kiffin's return to Ole Miss was defined by Trinidad Chambliss – the Rebels QB he left behind originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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LSU coach Lane Kiffin joined ESPN's "College GameDay" on Saturday morning from the confines of a hotel ballroom – and opened with the statement nobody took serious.
"Well it's not about me … " Kiffin said on the projector screen before the Ole Miss crowd at The Grove intervened.
"F— Lane Kiffin!"
"Both teams have great players, great coaches — have a lot of respect for their program," Kiffin said through the five-clap chant. "So, it's about the players performing really well tonight in a really awesome matchup, two top-10 teams, national game of the week, so both programs can be really excited."
Yet that chant continued all night.
It set up the pre-game theatrics. Kiffin was booed through the protection of a fence and heavy security detail when he entered Vaught Hemingway Stadium ahead of the showdown between No. 8 LSU at No. 9 Ole Miss on Saturday.
Kiffin, the coach who bolted from Ole Miss to LSU last season, left someone behind. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, the sixth-year quarterback from Ferris State, torched the Tigers with 363 passing yards and three TDs and the game-winning 14-yard TD run in a 32-24 thriller on Saturday. The irony speaks for itself.
With Kiffin, Chambliss led Ole Miss to a 24-19 victory against LSU last September – which started the end of the Brian Kelly era and indirectly set the chain of events that led to the decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU in motion. Kiffin, however, could not build a team that could beat Chambliss.
"All week, my biggest fear every minute was you know when the game is at the end and Trinidad has the ball in his hands," Kiffin said in the post-game press conference via WBRZ TV. "The guy made a lot of plays during the game and did a great job. That's why he is the hardest player to play in America."
Chambliss stole the spotlight for Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC) on a night many thought would turn into an ugly scene much like Kiffin's return to Neyland Stadium against Tennessee in a 31-26 victory on Oct. 16, 2021.
That game is best remembered for mustard bottles and golf balls. This game will be remembered as an after-party in Oxford, Miss., at Kiffin's expense — one that will stick for the remainder of the 2026 season when looking at the rest of the schedule for LSU (2-1, 0-1 SEC).
What does it mean for Kiffin? Legendary actor Morgan Freeman, the guest picker on "College GameDay", once played the role of Azeem in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." He dished out the memorable quote: "If it's fame you seek, Christian, I think you have it."
Heaven help Kiffin, this might be the lesson. Kiffin is no Robin Hood, but it's not about him any more. He is simply a victim of his own creation in Chambliss, who led a CFP run to the semifinals last season after Kiffin left. He proved there might be more where that came from.
MORE: Trinidad Chambliss unleashes a postgame 'F-bomb' on ABC
Ole Miss blitzes LSU in first half
At least Kiffin made the pre-game and half-time interviews with sideline reporter Holly Rowe.
"This should be fun, this will be an exciting night man, this is awesome," Kiffin said before the game.
By the 14:26 mark in the second quarter, the chants from the student section returned. Ole Miss had a quick 10-0 lead after a 5-yard touchdown run by Kewan Lacy, and LSU had one first down in its first three possessions.
Chambliss hit Traylon Ray for a 21-yard TD pass with 9:49 remaining in the second quarter for a 17-0 lead. The Tigers finally responded behind quarterback Sam Leavitt with a 17-play, 75-yard drive that took seven minutes and 52 seconds off the clock. Dillin Jones scored a two-yard TD, but Chambliss struck again before halftime with a 20-yard TD pass to Deuce Alexander with five seconds left.
A 24-7 lead at the half? Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, Kiffin's defensive coordinator last season, was 17 steps ahead of Kiffin. The students poured it on Kiffin at that point with some new variations. Kiffin chuckled when asked about that atmosphere in the first half.
"I think you walk into a storm," Kiffin said. "That's what happens a lot of times in this game. You see it all the time. They call it a buzzsaw. It's a buildup. The stadium was full an hour early. I guess I had to leave to get them to do that, so, you're welcome."
MORE: Draft stock for Trinidad Chambliss on the rise after Ole Miss win
LSU rallied in third quarter
If only it were that easy. LSU mounted a comeback in the third quarter – one that started with an interception by Ja'Keem Jackson. Leavitt scrambled for a third-down conversion where he was flipped upside down by Ole Miss defensive back Sharif Denson. Leavitt scored on a 4-yard TD run on the next play.
Then the Arizona State transfer completed a pair of third-down conversions on the next drive – the second a 26-yard TD pass to Winston Watkins Jr. – an Ole Miss transfer – that cut the lead to 24-21 with 3:05 left in the third quarter. Ty Benefield sacked Chambliss on third-and-10, and LSU had the ball to start the fourth quarter. Lacy was out with an upper body injury, yet Kiffin knew that could be dangerous.
"I think (Chambliss) gets more dangerous when Kewan is out because he has the ball every single snap," Kiffin said.
A fourth quarter to remember
The "F— Lane Kiffin!" chant returned with 14:21 left in the fourth quarter
Yet it was Kiffin who was cursing with his shirt covering his mouth after taking a timeout with 9:21 remaining on a fourth-and-1. JT Lindsey rushed for the first down after a high snap, and Chambliss would turn that into an 14-yard TD run later in the drive with 6:14 remaining. Kiffin used a term Georgia coach Kirby Smart coined – "Houdini plays" – to describe Chambliss.
"He's the most-dynamic player in college football and he finished last year that way — think about this, and now he has an offseason under him," Kiffin said. "He didn't have one before. He got here in the summer. Credit those guys coaching him, too."
The Rebels trolled Kiffin by going for two. Who does that? After getting the Tigers to jump into the neutral zone twice, Lindsey barreled in for the 32-24 lead.
Leavitt tried to counter – he converted a fourth-and-2 on a 13-yard scramble to prolong the drive, and the Tigers had second-and-goal before a false start penalty. Leavitt just missed Zach Grace on third down. On fourth down, Leavitt's pass hit Ole Miss defensive lineman Kam Franklin's helmet and landed in Jaylon Braxton's arms in the end zone. Ball game. You can guess what chant followed.
The trolling was in full effect.
Kiffin exited flanked by the same security. Nobody stormed the field. The loudspeaker played "Callin' Baton Rouge." Chambliss dropped a "Hotty f—— Toddy!" in the post-game interview with Rowe.
Kiffin, meanwhile, has to be left with a realization. This wasn't about him. This was about Chambliss. Ole Miss could make another run with the quarterback who will likely vault to the top of the Heisman Trophy conversation. This was one of those signature moments. LSU, meanwhile, still has dates with No. 10 Alabama, No. 1 Texas and another return to Knoxville against No. 15 Tennessee. Leavitt, who finished with 158 passing yards, 63 rushing yards and two TDs, is good too. He's just not Chambliss.
Kiffin was asked how this game registered on a personal level being on the other sideline. He said, "Sometimes I don't act like it but I'm a human, too.
"It was just a lot coming in and I'm sure that will be criticized, whatever, but there is a lot of stuff," Kiffin said. "Like I said, six years here and a lot of things and a lot of life-changing experiences and a lot of really good people who helped me through some really hard times."
Maybe the chants die there, or maybe not.
It depends on what Kiffin learns from the experience.
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