Everything Lane Kiffin Said About 'Hatred' and Return to Oxford for LSU vs. Ole Miss

LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is aware of the reaction he's likely to receive when he faces his old Ole Miss team on Saturday.

"I mean, I guess there's real safety issues and stuff, so there's people that have a plan for that. It is what it is," Kiffin told reporters on Monday. "But I told the players today, you don't have anything to worry about as far as attention on you all week. There's gonna be so much attention, hatred, everything on me that you just get to go play."

Kiffin also noted that this will be the first time since 1962 that the two teams will meet with both ranked in the top 10 of the AP Poll.

"That says to me it's the most relevant matchup of these two teams in 64 years," Kiffin said, per Brett Martel of the Associated Press. "So, I think that's a really neat thing that we were able to be part of building a program (in Mississippi) that Pete's doing a great job of continuing it as a top-10 program.

"When we got there, they had won four games (in 2019). And when we got here eight months ago, (the Tigers) were 7-6. So, I think it's a really good thing that I think a lot of people could look at it and say, 'Hey, both sides are doing really well, and both sides won.'"

As he led Ole Miss through a banner year in 2025, Kiffin spent much of the season as the rumored leading candidate to become LSU's next head coach. He joined the Tigers in November, leaving the Rebels to go through the College Football Playoff under interim coach Pete Golding, who was later elevated to the permanent position.

Both LSU and Ole Miss are off to 2-0 starts this year. The Tigers moved up to No. 7 in the AP Top 25. The No. 8 Rebels have won 13 straight home games dating back to last season, the third-longest active streak in FBS.

Kiffin added on Monday that he feels Ole Miss is the team that has to live up to expectations in Saturday's showdown.

"Really, the pressure is on them (Ole Miss)," he said. "We won seven games last year; they won 13. They return two Heisman candidates. How often does that happen in the same backfield?"

There will be a lot of hubbub about Kiffin's return to Oxford before kickoff on Saturday, but LSU and Ole Miss will surely be looking forward to settling things on the field and moving on in their national championship pursuits this season.