Lane Kiffin Trolls Rival SEC Head Coach After Week 1 Loss

There’s a lot of momentum brewing in Oxford, Mississippi, especially since head coach Lane Kiffin came to town. He revamped the No. 6 Ole Miss Rebel roster through the transfer portal this past offseason and made a statement with it during the team’s 76-0 demolition of the Furman Paladins in an opening week win.

Another former SEC West program didn’t fare so well. The No. 13 LSU Tigers and head coach Brian Kelly dropped their third straight opening week loss since the former Notre Dame head coach made his way down to Baton Rouge. A close Sunday night contest with the No. 23 USC Trojans ended in a 20-27 loss on a go-ahead touchdown run with only eight seconds left on the clock.

Many fans might have tuned out after the clock struck zero, but those lucky enough to stick around for Kelly’s press conference saw exactly how frustrating the loss was for the LSU head coach. Kelly literally pounded the table causing his water bottle to catch some serious air while trying to explain away another close loss to start the year.

“We’re sitting here again talking about the same things–about not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put them away," Kelly said following Sunday night’s loss. "But what we’re doing on the sideline is feeling like the game’s over."

The clip went viral online and Kiffin had a little fun at Kelly’s expense after seeing one frame of the Dasani water bottle’s hangtime following Kelly’s table slam.

Many college football analysts peg the Rebels to be a major contender for the SEC championship game given their strength of roster and strength of schedule. Several others had the Tigers pinned as a question mark after they rolled out one of the worst defenses in the country in 2023 and after losing Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels to the NFL.

The Rebels look to continue their roll against the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders on September 7 with kickoff at 4:15 p.m. ET on SEC Network. LSU will likely get back on track with a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff against the Nicholls State Colonels on SEC+ the same day.

Related: Joel Klatt Identifies Problem With One Major College Football Program After Week 1 Loss