5 Real Keys For Ole Miss To Beat LSU Next Season And How They Adapt

All of Ole Miss knows the Lane Kiffin story. Best team in school history, just beat your rivals big on the road on Thanksgiving, and a trip to the CFP guaranteed, and he leaves the Rebels in the dirt to coach the LSU Tigers.

On September 19, 2026, at 6:30 p.m., Lane Kiffin and LSU will kick off against Ole Miss in Oxford, MS, at the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for Kiffin's first SEC game as the Tigers' head coach.

As much as it might hurt Ole Miss fans to say, the Tigers have a very good team. Kiffin had $40 million to build an elite roster, and he did just that.

A New Tiger Offense

LSU transfer Eugene Wilson II — Florida Gators wide receiver Eugene Wilson III (3) hauls in a reception in the first quarter in an NCAA football game, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] | Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Lane Kiffin came to LSU and completely renovated the offensive side of the ball, bringing in transfers such as Sam Levitt, Jayce Brown, and Eugene Wilson III.

These guys were all at the top of the 2026 portal class as Kiffin and LSU finished the winter with a portal grade of 79.02, good for No. 1 in the nation in front of Ole Miss.

Kiffin the defensive mind?

LB TJ Dotter — Ole Miss Rebels linebacker TJ Dottery (6) celebrates his tackle against the Miami Hurricanes during their Vrbo Fiesta Bowl matchup at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026. | Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With huge revamps to the offense, Kiffin did his thing with the defense, too. Buying out Princewill Umanmielen from Ole Miss, bringing in Jordan Ross, TJ Dottery, and Tamarcus Cooley, all top defensive portal prospects.

The 2025 Tigers defense was supposed to be a Top 5 core nationally, but ended up stinking after the firing of head coach Brian Kelly, finishing the year with the country's 24th ranked defense.

No Rat Poison

MS State fan sign at the egg bow — Mississippi State fans hold signs referencing Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin’s potential departure during a college football game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. Ole Miss defeated Mississippi State 38-19 in the Egg Bowl. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the words of Kiffin himself, no rat poison is going to be the key to Ole Miss’s success this fall and against LSU. Already stirring the pot here in May, Lane Kiffin did an article with Vanity Fair and On3 called Ole Miss claiming that the lack of “diversity” was the reason for his departure. His buddy at the University of Texas, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, took a shot at Ole Miss, too.

“At Texas, we will only take 50% of a player’s academic credit hours,” Sarkisian told USA Today. “You may be a semester from graduating, but you’re going all the way back to 50% if you play here and want a degree. But at Ole Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree.”

All this media rat poison before the season has even started hasn’t seemed to bother the Rebels too much. Lots of fans and old alumni came to the Rebels' and Ole Miss defense against these claims, but nothing from Pete Golding and the players. Some people might think, “Why aren’t they defending their school?” but the Rebels players and coaches keeping it quiet and doing their own thing is a blessing in disguise for Ole Miss fans as they are playing for wins, not for clicks.

Feed Kewan Lacy

Best Duo in Ole Miss FB history — Sep 13, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) hands the ball off to running back Kewan Lacy (5) during the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorback at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Coming back to the actual football side of things, on paper, both the Tigers and Rebels are super similar. This game is going to be personal for both sides of the ball, and the atmosphere at the Vaught and in Oxford is going to be next level.

Rebels star running back Kewan Lacy is going to be the bread and butter for Ole Miss in 2026 after exploding in 2025, setting the record for most touchdowns in program history. He’s set for another explosive year. LSU’s rush defense last year was ranked 29th against the rush, allowing 126.9 yards a game. In 2025, Kewan Lacy averaged 116.3 by himself. He also scored every 12.8 carries.

How LSU and Kiffin adapt

Kiffin still at Ole Mis — Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin walks off the field during a college football game between Mississippi State and Ole Miss at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. The Egg Bowl game marks the 122nd meeting between the two teams. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rebel fans having Kiffin as a head coach for the past six years knows how the team adapts to games over time. Ole Miss has always been a come-from-behind team. Specifically, this past decade, they have 23 come-from-behind wins. That’s 42% of Kiffin's wins at Ole Miss came from trailing (23 out of 55).

We know Kiffin likes to get going early, but if that fails, you cannot count LSU out from a fourth-quarter or late-game comeback. Golding and the Ole Miss defense have to cut the head off the snake early in the game and shut down new QB Sam Levitt and the Tigers' offense.

The Rebels have no reason not to walk into week three against Kiffin and LSU with a 2-0 record and unlimited energy. Playing the coach that snaked on you right before the biggest stretch of your program's history and to line up across former teammates that followed the snake to your rival school should be all you need to leave everything out on the field.

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