Lane Kiffin Says Ole Miss Has One Major Advantage Over LSU

LSU and Ole Miss clash on Saturday, with the eyes of the college football world on Oxford.

On paper, this matchup looks electric. It's LSU's dominant defense against Ole Miss's star-powered offense and LSU's still-unproven offense against a questionable Ole Miss defense.

But for LSU head coach Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding, former coaches together just a season ago, their meeting on other sidelines is something that provides the Rebels with an advantage over the Tigers.

Kiffin believes Golding's familiarity with his offense creates a tactical advantage for Ole Miss.

“I think this is really an unusual thing,” Kiffin said Monday at his weekly press conference. “There’s so much familiarity with coaches.”

Kiffin Proving His Point

Nov 12, 2022; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and Alabama head coach Nick Saban talk before the game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Kiffin turned his experience in the same situation to explain how Ole Miss has that advantage

"Because I had listened for three years to all the things that he would teach us that he (Nick Saban) didn’t like,” Kiffin said. “And then we ended up using that (what he didn’t like against him). I think in this way, this benefits them (Ole Miss and Golding) more than us in the coaching way, because Pete sat there and for the three years we’re together, and he’s hearing me say what I don’t like to play against."

But Kiffin should have a familiarity with Golding's defense, having watched it every week for three seasons.

Kifin thinks the sentiment of familiarity is not necessarily equally shared.

"Because as a head coach, Saban and I are going to tell the assistants what we should play and things that cause us problems more than the coordinator’s going to tell the head coach," Kiffin said.

How LSU Plans on Negating Ole Miss' Advantage

Tigers Head Coach Lane Kiffin, LSU Tigers take on the LA Tech Bulldogs. September 12, 2026; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; at Tiger Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

LSU's offense is undeniably a Kiffin and Charlie Weis Jr. offense.

But there are some nuances to it that might just eliminate Golding and Ole Miss' advantage.

Kiffin's offenses at Ole Miss were flashier than what he has and will have all season at LSU.

It's still the same scheme, though, as his Rebels’ offenses were always fast and he always had a wide receiver room that was full of speed. And he still has that at LSU.

Kiffin won’t suddenly abandon that pace or even his use of speed, but he did build with a more physical approach in mind.

That's clear in LSU's offseason spending, going after numerous talented offensive linemen, running back depth and arguably the country's most physical quarterback in the open field.

Kiffin took it a step further, making sure his play on the field backed up his strength in spending off the field.

At Ole Miss last season, Kiffin dialed up 576 rushing plays and 523 passing plays, a telltale sign of a very balanced offense.

But in 2026 so far, Kiffin has called 101 rushing plays and 77 passing plays, putting LSU on pace for 757 rushing attempts and 577 passing attempts, a clear sign of a more physical approach to play calling.

That physicality has also shown itself in the types of runs LSU has called.

It's taken looks out of the pistol, with stretch runs sprinkled in - something Ole Miss rarely ever ran last season. The stretch creates a need for better east-to-west blocking with the same north-and-south responsibilities holding true.

Those kinds of play calls show a certain level of trust in the physicality and overall general ability along the offensive line and with receivers blocking.

The Numbers Behind the Clash

On paper, looking just at the teams, it's not necessarily close. Admittedly, only two weeks of football outside of conference play isn't much to go off of, but the numbers are still staggering.

For this game, the unit matchups are mirrors of each other. Ole Miss' strength matches up with LSU's strength, and Ole Miss' most questionable play has come in a phase that matches up with LSU's most questionable play as well.

LSU currently holds the No. 1 defense in the country, leading the nation in total defense (142.0 ypg) and sacks (12), and ranks No. 2 in rush defense, allowing only 18.0 yards per game.

The unit's feats are amazing: LSU held Louisiana Tech to 1 yard or less on 23 of 35 offensive plays, and the week before, LSU held Clemson to 1 yard or less on 23 of 40 offensive plays.

On top of that, former Ole Miss and current LSU edge Princewill Umanmielen leads the nation with 5 sacks.

On the other side of the line of scrimmage will be Ole Miss's offense, which sits as the No. 39 offense in the country.

Ole Miss has two of the country's best players in the backfield, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy. Both are considered early-season candidates to win the Heisman Trophy in December.

LSU currently holds the No. 3 offense in the country.

Despite some disappointing play in the first half against Louisiana Tech or from Sam Leavitt with turnovers, the offense is moving the ball, and moving it very well.

The struggles have come in the red zone. But even those issues aren't as bad as Kiffin has made them sound. LSU has scored on 12 of its 14 red zone trips this season, with nine of the 12 scores being touchdowns. Both of LSU's non-conversions in the red zone came after Leavitt threw interceptions - both of which were in the Louisiana Tech game.

But LSU had some real issues breaking through in Week 2 versus Tech in the red zone, as the running game was mostly inefficient in the close area.

But the good news is that LSU is making history. No LSU team has piled up more yards through two games than Kiffin's offense has, with 1,172 yards.

LSU's fast- and always-moving offense will meet an Ole Miss defense that many people around the country aren't sold on yet.

Ole Miss currently has the No. 108 defense in the country, allowing an average of 395.5 yards per game.

The worries come as the defense ranks No. 103 in rushing defense and No. 107 in passing defense.

Despite the talk of Ole Miss' advantages, looking at the numbers, Kiffin's actions in the first two weeks and just overall play, LSU really holds the advantage in Oxford on Saturday.

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