OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Only one year ago, Mississippi fans hailed Lane Kiffin as the coach who helped them beat border-state rival LSU.
On Saturday, as the No. 8 Rebels prepared to host No. 7 LSU, Ole Miss fans were eager to mock and heckle Kiffin in myriad ways — and did so amid abundant security measures designed to ensure any expressions of betrayal, resentment or anger didn’t get out of hand as the lightning-rod coach returned to campus, this time with the Tigers.
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The scene made Jessica Perkins, a 47-year-old Oxford-area dentist and Ole Miss graduate, a bit nervous as she stood under a tent on the edge of the university's famous, tree-lined tailgating area known as The Grove.
She noted lightheartedly that “absolutely nothing good” can happen when “the added animosity of the Kiffin situation” is layered upon longstanding rivals indulging in a full day of alcohol consumption in oppressively hot weather — mostly sunny and in the mid-90s Fahrenheit.
“Let's just play football and ignore the whole elephant in the room,” Perkins said. “We're the hospitality people. So, we're also praying that everybody stays safe, doesn't act stupid and we just show everybody a good time. Ole Miss is always going to win the party.”
The Rebels went on to win, 32-24, handing Kiffin his first loss in three games at LSU.
“I’m glad it’s over,” Kiffin said. “This was an emotional game for a lot of reasons.”
The Tigers got into the stadium without incident, as Ole Miss took the unusual step of setting up tall chain-link fences with a blue covering to obscure the view. Some fans still waited until they could see the tops of LSU's buses and unloaded insults, some including obscenities, as the team made the short walk to the visitors' locker room.
When Kiffin took the field, he was booed by red-and-blue clad Ole Miss fans, many of whom also had their phones held high to capture video.
A handful of LSU dignitaries stood along the sideline during warmups, including Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill. The coach's daughter, Landry Kiffin — an Ole Miss student who is finishing her degree online from Baton Rouge — also stood near the LSU bench during warmups, wearing a gold dress. Kiffin's agent, Jimmy Sexton, was on the field speaking with LSU president Wade Rouse when a practice punt took an odd bounce and struck Rousse in the side of the head.
For the most part, though, the atmosphere was festive, and some fans wearing LSU gear, having braced for the worst, found themselves “underwhelmed” by the level of hostility they faced as they walked through the Grove and made their way to the stadium.
“It's not as bad as I thought it would be,” said Jackson Dreffs, 23, an LSU graduate who lives in Houston and wore a white LSU jersey. “It's actually the best time I've had in Oxford.”
LSU fans are regularly referred to as “corndogs” (because of the deep-fried aroma at their stadium) by fans at rival Southeastern Conference schools, and art posted at tailgate tents last year portrayed Kiffin riding one like a rodeo cowboy.
Predictably, Kiffin is now an object of sometimes creative derision in Oxford.
Makeshift signs held aloft by members of the crowd behind the set referred to Kiffin as a traitor and portrayed him sticking corndogs up his nose and in his mouth. Some called him “Lame Kiffin.” One read, “This sign was listed as ‘doubtful,’” poking fun at Kiffin’s apparent act of gamesmanship when he listed LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt as doubtful on Wednesday before ultimately taking his name off the injury report by Friday night.
Matt Garrett, a 49-year-old Oxford resident and Ole Miss graduate, said a lot of the heckling was in good fun and that many in Mississippi were not “truly angry” at Kiffin because “he's done a lot for northern Mississippi and a lot for this program.”
Garrett said Ole Miss fans were just annoyed at the timing of his departure, right before the Rebels entered the College Football Playoff, and were bothered by how Kiffin abruptly left Oxford aboard a private jet sent to fetch him by LSU.
“How they kind of handled everything in the process was very unprofessional,” Garrett said. “There is going to be some anger, I'm sure, but hopefully with the Southern hospitality we have, we'll keep everything under control.”
Social media video late this week showed that Kiffin invited LSU fraternities and sororities to LSU's football facility to heckle the Tigers — an effort to provide a taste of what they would face on Saturday.
“We just try to do everything to simulate the game, simulate the day,” Kiffin said when asked about it during his morning TV appearance as boos and chants laced with vulgarities emanated from the crowd in The Grove. “There’s going to be a lot of emotion all through the stadium obviously that you’re feeling there right now.”
Mississippi state officials have said they were assembling the state’s largest law enforcement presence ever for a college football game this weekend in Oxford, a town of about 26,000 permanent residents, where authorities expected around 100,000 people to converge — many of them without tickets for 64,000-seat Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
“Our priority is making sure everyone can enjoy the game and surrounding events safely,” said Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. “This enhanced presence is about being prepared, staying proactive and working together.
When Ole Miss played at Tennessee in 2021, bringing Kiffin back to another one of his previous coaching stops, play was halted for about 20 minutes after Volunteers fans upset about a fourth-down spot of the ball in the closing minutes pelted the field with objects. Kiffin said he was hit by golf balls and liquor bottles.
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