Only one year ago, Mississippi fans hailed Lane Kiffin as the coach that 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 with the Tigers.
LSU fans are regularly referred to as “corndogs” (because of the deep-fried aroma at their stadium) by those at rival Southeastern Conference schools, and art around campus last year portrayed Kiffin riding one like a rodeo cowboy.
Predictably, Kiffin is now an object of sometimes creative derision in Oxford.
The famous, tree-lined, tailgating spot known as The Grove — where the Rebels walk on their way into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — was teeming with people early in the morning. And when Kiffin’s image appeared live on a big screen for an interview on ESPN, the first-year LSU coach was booed heartily.
Makeshift signs held aloft by members of the crowd behind the set referred to Kiffin as a traitor, portrayed him sticking corndogs up his nose and in his mouth. One stated, “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 night before ultimately taking his name off the injury report by Friday night.
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.
Ole Miss students were warned this week that nobody wearing an opposing team’s apparel will be allowed to enter the stadium’s student section and that anyone spotted by security in opponent gear or colors during the game will be removed.
Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, announced earlier this week that between 65 and 70 troopers and officers from the highway patrol and commercial transportation enforcement division would be in Oxford to “maintain a highly visible and proactive presence through the conclusion of the weekend.” The operation also will include a helicopter and a mobile command center to coordinate surveillance of the scene, not for a specific threat but rather to be proactive.
Louisiana State Police were sending 15 officers to work with Mississippi law enforcement, Tindell said, to help ensure safe and efficient transportation and operations for LSU’s traveling party.
“Our priority is making sure everyone can enjoy the game and surrounding events safely,” Tindell said. “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 of a close game pelted the field with objects. Kiffin said he was hit by golf balls and liquor bottles.
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding echoed the calls for restraint from Rebels fans.
“About Oxford, the first thing you talk about is the people there. Let’s not lose that over a game, over a person or anything else like that,” Golding said this week at his regular news conference. “There’s nothing wrong with being competitive, being in the moment, being really loud and being an unbelievable fan. At the end of the day, don’t lose what we’ve created.”
READ MORE:Mockery emanates from Ole Miss’ Grove on the day of Lane Kiffin’s return to campus with LSU
