‘Dude Just Jealous of What (Lane) Kiffin Has Built’ — CFB Fans Call Out ‘Salty’ Brian Kelly for Predicting Ole Miss Will Defeat LSU
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Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss after guiding the Rebels to a College Football Playoff berth, and he is now preparing for his first season at LSU.
After opening the season with two wins, expectations are already high for the Tigers to win the championship in Kiffin’s debut season. However, former LSU coach Brian Kelly doesn’t expect Kiffin to even get past his former team in their first meeting.
Brian Kelly Predicts LSU Will Lose to Ole Miss in Lane Kiffin’s Return to Oxford
LSU and Kiffin wasted no time reshaping the roster through the transfer portal, with top additions including quarterback Sam Leavitt, offensive tackle Jordan Seaton, and edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen. The program reportedly invested more than $40 million in building Kiffin’s roster, and that level of spending brings big expectations as well.
But after picking up two wins at Tiger Stadium, LSU is on the road for the first time, and Kelly believes Ole Miss will have the advantage.
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“When you go on the road in the SEC, the home crowd makes a difference,” Kelly declared on CBS, picking Ole Miss for Saturday’s game.
In six seasons in charge of the Rebels, Kiffin turned Ole Miss into an SEC and college football powerhouse, and even after his departure, the program remains strong. Under new coach Pete Golding this season, the Rebels are also unbeaten like the Tigers, having beaten Charlotte 41-9 after edging Louisville 41-38 in its season opener.
However, PFN metrics indicate a significant difference between the two teams. Kiffin’s Tigers boast college football’s best PFN College Team Defense Impact score of 95.7 versus the Rebels’ 75.1, while Golding’s Ole Miss has earned a PFN College Team Offense Impact score of 79.2 versus LSU’s 81.8.
It’s no surprise, then, that the Tigers are favorites, and Kelly’s prediction, as a former LSU head coach, seems “salty” to many fans.
“Dude just jealous of what Kiffin has built in year 1,” one fan commented.
“Isn’t this the same Brian Kelly who picked Clemson to beat LSU in week 1?… there’s a reason his (expletive) got fired lol 😂,” another fan noted, but Kelly had actually picked LSU to beat Clemson before Week 1.
“Yeah if you were coaching 🤣,” joked another.
Kelly was the Tigers’ head coach from 2022 to 2025 and finished with a 34-14 record. However, Kelly never took LSU to the College Football Playoff and was fired midway through the 2025 season after a 5-3 start, with the program ultimately hiring Kiffin.
“Of course he says this after losing to Lane Kiffin in Oxford last year,”one fan wrote, referring to the Tigers’ 24-19 loss last season.
“(expletive) this salty (expletive) (expletive) mf 😂😂,” another fan wrote.
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According to ESPN, Saturday’s game will represent the first time since 1962 that the Tigers and Rebels have met with both teams ranked inside the AP Top 10. Add in the fact that Kiffin is returning to Oxford for the first time since leaving Ole Miss, and the game carries plenty of added intrigue.
Kelly may believe the home crowd will give the Rebels the edge, but LSU enters the game with a defense that has already made a strong impression. Whether that is enough to overcome the road environment will be one of the biggest questions when Kiffin faces his former team for the first time.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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