LSU Coach Lane Kiffin Takes Public Shot At SEC's Scheduling Change
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Lane Kiffin might have chosen a bad time to jump ship from one SEC team to another if only because that change happened at the same time that the conference from making the long-awaited shift from eight to nine in-conference games. And by Kiffin’s own admission, there are some “scheduling quirks” he’s battling through.
Speaking to the media this week, Kiffin addressed his team’s upcoming game against Texas A&M. During that conversation, he alluded to the fact that the shift in the schedule resulted in back-to-back years of LSU hosting the Aggies and visiting Ole Miss – who beat him last weekend.
“Obviously we just played the best one in the country last week thinking he can hurt you even when you have the right call on and everybody covered and a guy comes free,” Kiffin said, via On3. “Obviously he played great a year ago here in the stadium, so this is one of those scheduling quirks just like last week where never in that LSU-Ole Miss series had it ever been played two times in a row…
“That (Ole Miss) game was supposed to be here, and this one was supposed to be (at Texas A&M). So these are the scheduling quirks that come with our awesome move to nine games that has sure looked so great here lately.”
NEW: Lane Kiffin called the LSU-Ole Miss game the Rebels’ “Super Bowl”👀
“If it wasn’t for the name, Ole Miss, and if it was more of a traditional name that we were playing, we hadn’t coached at before, how would everybody be feeling if, in your third game of your first year of… pic.twitter.com/FlcVcrW8WP
— On3 (@On3) September 23, 2026
Downplaying the Downfall
Kiffin has been doing his hardest to downplay the significance of his team’s loss to his former team this past weekend.
“If it wasn’t for the name, Ole Miss, and if it was more of a traditional name that we were playing, we hadn’t coached at before, how would everybody be feeling if, in your third game of your first year of a program, you went to Ohio State and came all the way back? The quarterback didn’t play very — ours didn’t play very well, and theirs played lights out. I’m sure after three games, he would be named the Heisman winner,” he said.
“So, I think when you look at it that way and say, OK, man, their Super Bowl, then all the stuff around it, all the energy in the stadium, everything, and we’re right there at the end with multiple chances to win the game. We got to learn from that and finish when we’re in that type of situation again.”
And while the loss still leaves the Tigers with a good chance at making the College Football Playoff, there’s almost no room for error moving forward. A loss to the Aggies this weekend would push the Tigers to the brink before September even ends.
He can’t afford that.
Then again, neither can the Aggies, who also lost in even more embarrassing fashion to the Kentucky Wildcats at home last week.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Sep 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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