What Dabo Swinney said on Lane Kiffin, LSU vs Clemson in first game after leaving Ole Miss
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CLEMSON — Clemson football will open the 2026 season vs LSU in in a rematch of this year’s game, but the Tigers will have a new coach.
LSU fired Brian Kelly on Oct. 26, then hired former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin on Nov. 30 during the Rebels’ pursuit of the national championship.
“Obviously, he’s a great coach. It’s a great program,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Dec. 3. “When that time comes, it’ll be a great matchup.”
Clemson will face LSU on Sept. 5, 2026, at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in Kiffin’s first game as LSU coach. Interim coach Frank Wilson will coach the Tigers in this year’s bowl game.
Time and TV will be announced later for Clemson vs LSU, but it will be the second game of the home-and-home series. LSU beat Clemson 17-10 at Memorial Stadium to start this season.
Swinney said he knows Kiffin on a professional level with the new LSU coach reaching out throughout his coaching career.
“We’ve text many times over the years,” Swinney said. “He’s reached out different times with questions.”
It will be Swinney’s first time coaching against Kiffin.
Clemson faced Alabama in the 2016 national championship when Kiffin was the Crimson Tide’s offensive coordinator but was relieved of his duties before the game because he had taken the Florida Atlantic coaching job.
Kiffin departed Ole Miss (11-1) despite the Rebels being ranked No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings. He received immense criticism for his decision to leave during the season with Ole Miss administration denying him the opportunity to coach the Rebels in the postseason.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at DCarter@usatodayco.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dabo Swinney reacts to Lane Kiffin, Clemson facing LSU in 2026 opener
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