After loss, LSU's Kiffin shows 'gratefulness' for Ole Miss tenure — SkimNews
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- No. 8 Ole Miss defeated No. 7 LSU 32-24 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday night in Lane Kiffin's first game back as the opposing coach after leaving for LSU on Nov. 30
- Lane Kiffin told reporters he was "glad the game was over" and expressed "gratefulness" for his six years at Ole Miss, saying the return was "really emotional" and "went well beyond football" despite fans booing him off the field
- Trinidad Chambliss — whom Kiffin had tried to recruit to LSU before the quarterback transferred from Division II Ferris State — threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns on 33-of-48 passing and added a 14-yard touchdown run with 6:14 left that proved decisive
- The game ended when LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt's fourth-down pass bounced off Ole Miss defender Kam Franklin's helmet and into the hands of Jaylon Braxton in the end zone
- LSU rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to tie the game at 24-24 on Scott Starzyk's 23-yard fourth-quarter field goal before Chambliss led a 75-yard go-ahead scoring drive capped by a two-point conversion run by JT Lindsey
- Kiffin attributed LSU's slow start to the hostile environment, joking afterward that the stadium filled an hour early and adding, "I guess I had to leave to get them to do that. So you're welcome"
Why it matters: Kiffin acknowledged he wanted the game over, publicly thanking Ole Miss even as fans booed him — an unusual display of vulnerability that framed his departure as personal rather than purely competitive. With Chambliss torching the secondary and Ole Miss now 3-0, the win strengthens the Rebels' case to climb toward the top of the polls and likely intensifies the scrutiny on Kiffin's first season in Baton Rouge.
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