‘Psychologically Put a Dagger Through Lane Kiffin’s Heart’ — Paul Finebaum Explains How Ole Miss HC Pete Golding Rattled LSU
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The LSU Tigers spent most of Saturday night trying to dig out of a 17-point halftime hole against the Ole Miss Rebels. By the fourth quarter, Lane Kiffin’s team had finally pulled even. Then Pete Golding made the kind of decision Kiffin himself has built a reputation on making.
Ole Miss answered LSU’s 17 straight points with a 13-play, 75-yard drive capped by Trinidad Chambliss’ 14-yard touchdown run. Rather than simply kick the extra point and lead by seven, Golding went for two. JT Lindsey converted, the Rebels went ahead 32-24, and LSU never scored again.
Paul Finebaum Says Pete Golding Got Inside Lane Kiffin’s Head
Paul Finebaum thought the two-point call carried more weight than the scoreboard alone suggested.
During Monday’s “First Take” discussion, Finebaumsaid Kiffin looked unusually tense throughout his return to Oxford. He compared the demeanor to Kiffin’s old matchups against Nick Saban, when Finebaum said the coach sometimes struggled to control how badly he wanted to win.
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“He seemed out of sorts the entire game,” Finebaum said. “He seemed uptight, really more so than any time I have seen him, other than maybe when he used to face Nick Saban every year and blow that game because he wanted to win so bad.”
Finebaum added that Kiffin “almost seemed like a zombie” and argued LSU reflected that tension before finally settling into the game.
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The part that stood out most, though, came after Chambliss put Ole Miss ahead. Finebaum said Golding made the aggressive choice Kiffin might normally be expected to make.
“He went for two points and psychologically put a dagger through Lane Kiffin’s heart,” Finebaum said.
Ole Miss’ Response Made Kiffin’s Return Hurt More
The decision became even more striking because of who made it. Golding took over Ole Miss after Kiffin left for LSU following the 2025 regular season, and Finebaum argued Golding was hardly viewed as an obvious head-coaching candidate at the time.
Instead, Golding has Ole Miss at 3-0 after beating the coach he replaced. Chambliss, meanwhile, completed 33 of 48 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns, then added the go-ahead rushing score. HisPFN CFB QB Impact score sits at 82.6 through three games, ranking No. 37 among eligible quarterbacks.
The quarterback’srecent rise has only added another layer to the post-Kiffin story in Oxford. Ole Miss kept one of the central pieces of last year’s playoff team and has now handed its former coach his first loss at LSU.
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Kiffin acknowledged afterward that the return was emotional and credited Ole Miss for deserving the win. Finebaum saw the night differently. To him, Golding did more than beat Kiffin on the scoreboard. On the game’s biggest late decision, he beat him at his own game.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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