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The battle between Lane Kiffin and Brian Kelly on Saturday night, underneath the lights of Tiger Stadium, will hopefully live up to the hype. Both coaches have been waiting for another Ole Miss-LSU meeting since last year’s classic game in Oxford, which the Rebels won 55-49. 

While it will be the players on the field that determine the outcome of this game, that doesn’t take away from the massive spotlight that’s shining on both Kiffin and Kelly along the sidelines in Death Valley.

We’ve seen jabs traded between coaches over the years, as Lane loves to troll different programs on social media, but it seems as though the Ole Miss head coach enjoys poking the Tigers a bit more than others. If you remember, Kiffin started one of his press conference gatherings by going on a rant about the amount of sugar that is in Coca-Cola, which is a sponsor of the NCAA and SEC. 

Then, he turned it into another talking point when USC defeated LSU in the season-opener. 

This led to Brian Kelly taking the podium in Baton Rouge in late August with a ‘smart-water’ in his hand, making it a point to say that it’s a Coke product, which was clearly the LSU head coach having a little fun with Kiffin. 

“Just a shout-out to our sponsor, Coke,” Brian Kelly mentioned in August. “Smartwater, great Coke product. Minerals, vitamins. It’s just great for you. It’s refreshing. Healthy and Coke provides you all the products that you need, depending on what you like, and I love smartwater.”

Did you expect anything different from Kelly, who has taken a beating from Kiffin on social media through the years? 

Following the 55-49 offensive showcase last season, I would expect we’re headed towards another potential shootout tonight, in-front of over 100,000 fans in Baton Rouge. 

Saturday Night Has Massive Implications For College Football Playoff

Following the loss to Kentucky, the Rebels had put themselves in a very tough situation when it comes to the playoffs. Ole Miss needed to win the next two weeks, and checked the first box by beating South Carolina last weekend. If Lane Kiffin and the Rebels were to lose on Saturday night, I don’t want to say that the season is over for Ole Miss, but they’d have to run the table to be playing in late December for a shot at the national title. 

But the same can be said for LSU, with how wacky this season has been in college football. As we witnessed last weekend in Nashville, there’s not an easy game for these teams any longer, and that could turn into a massive challenge for the loser on Saturday night. 

Things did take an awkward turn on Friday night for Ole Miss, as the football program released a statement on ‘feigned injuries’ that have been at the forefront of conversations surrounding the Rebels. All of this stems from multiple opponents raising concerns with the SEC, and national football officials about Ole Miss trying to get an upper hand on on dead-ball scenarios. 

Sources tell OutKick that there has been an influx of videos sent to the conference and national level over the past five weeks of football that are directed towards Ole Miss, and the perceived faking of injuries. Additionally, we are told that it has gotten so bad, compared to years past, that instances are being sent to the national office, not just the SEC, on a weekly basis. 

The increase in fake injury complaints, specifically with Ole Miss, has picked up quite a bit this season. 

“It’s worth 3-4 more timeouts per game,” multiple SEC coaches told OutKick on Friday night. 

I would imagine ESPN cameras are going to be zeroing in on every single Ole Miss player that goes down tonight, especially with the Rebels drawing attention to themselves with the seemingly unprovoked statement on Friday night. 

Lane Kiffin and Brian Kelly would love nothing more than to ruin each others season, which could happen on Saturday night at LSU

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI – SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels talks with head coach Brian Kelly of the LSU Tigers prior to their game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 30, 2023 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)

If you told me before the season that Ole Miss could be on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs, after the second weekend of October, I probably would’ve called you crazy. But this is where we stand, and the Tigers are looking to grab revenge, while Brian Kelly would love nothing more than to add another loss to the Rebels 2024 season record. 

The same could be said for Lane Kiffin, as he looks for quarterback Jaxson Dart and his offense to light-up the scoreboard against an LSU defense that has been suspect at times this season. 

Either way, as both coaches head to midfield as their teams warm-up for this important SEC game on Saturday night, you can throw the social media jabs and awkward compliments they’ve been sharing in the leadup to this game. 

All each coach wants to do is send the other into panic mode for the remainder of this season. Then, social media interactions will really get entertaining.