LSU’s Lane Kiffin says ‘both sides won’ when he left Ole Miss, but he still expects ‘hatred’

Baton Rouge, La. (AP) — Lane Kiffin believes that if the college football world's focus is primarily on him this week, he might as well utilize that to his advantage. Kiffin mentioned that the emotions surrounding the matchup between Ole Miss and LSU at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will be intense, mentioning safety concerns. Kiffin stated that his players should not worry about the publicity, as there will be a lot of attention, hatred, and everything on him.

He highlighted that the pressure is on Ole Miss, considering their recent success and returning two Heisman Trophy candidates. Kiffin looked back on his time at Ole Miss, where he won seven games and compared it to Ole Miss's 13 wins last year. He even pointed out that Pete Carroll had similar player pairings during his time at Southern California.

Kiffin expressed his desire for Ole Miss fans to focus on the improvement of their program when he left rather than on him personally. He also mentioned that he personally hired Pete Golding as defensive coordinator at Ole Miss. Kiffin emphasized that both sides are performing well and both have won, implying that the rivalry is healthy.

He also acknowledged that both programs will be worried about leaks and that the game will be well-watched and long remembered.