August 29th marked the commencement of one of the most exciting sports seasons: college football. Fan bases emerge from everywhere, cheering their team onto a national championship run. Weeks one and two did not disappoint, as both featured electric games and upsets between high-level teams. However, week three was home to the most hyped up game so far this year, and potentially for the rest of the season.
Now, the transferring of players from school to school chasing NIL deals is not rare, but it is not typically seen with coaches. Last year, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin decided to accept a coaching job at Louisiana State University (LSU) for this season. Instead of finishing the year with his Ole Miss squad, he left the team right before the playoffs. Junior Beckett Williams explains, “I was shocked he would betray his team like that while pursuing a national championship.” This year, when the teams faced off at Ole Miss, the crowd let him hear it.
On September 19, 2026, Ole Miss hosted LSU in one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. Extra security personnel were hired, student section rules were enforced, and Kiffin even hired members of fraternities and sororities to distract his players at practice on days leading up to the game. Junior Aidan Holmes says, “I have never seen anything like this. I do not follow college football often, but the hype around the game could not be denied, and I had to watch.” His reaction was nothing short of how exciting a game it proved to be.
The scoring was opened by Ole Miss when senior kicker Lucas Carneiro drilled a thirty-seven yard field goal midway through the first quarter. After a short possession by LSU, Ole Miss stormed back down the field and junior running back Kewan Lacy punched in a five-yard touchdown, putting Ole Miss up 10-0 to end the first quarter. Ole Miss continued their dominance in the second quarter as their star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss connected with junior Traylon Ray for a twenty-one yard touchdown pass, extending the lead to 17-0. However, LSU was not going down without a fight. Sophomore running back Dilin Jones scored a two-yard rushing touchdown with a little under two minutes left in the half. Despite the limited amount of time on the clock, Chambliss tossed a twenty-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Deuce Alexander as time expired, putting Ole Miss up 24-7 at halftime.
Despite the deficit, LSU made a promising comeback in the third quarter. Junior quarterback Sam Leavitt scored a four-yard rushing touchdown to start the half, and then threw a twenty-six yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Winston Watkins Junior with three minutes left in the quarter. As the quarter ended, LSU had managed to make it a one possession game, and they even tied it in the fourth quarter. Sophomore kicker Scott Starzyk nailed a twenty-three-yard field goal to tie the game at twenty-four. However, Ole Miss crushed LSU’s dreams and a miraculous comeback. Chambliss scrambled for a fourteen-yard touchdown with six minutes left in the quarter, and JT Lindsey completed the two point conversion. Unfortunately for LSU fans, they could not complete the comeback in the fourth quarter, losing 32-24. The win, led by Chambliss, meant a lot for the Ole Miss team and fanbase, as Chambliss said, “This one meant a lot more than other games – the coaches that were here, now at LSU, some players as well. I wanted this one bad, and our team did, too”(ESPN).
Ole Miss players and fans made sure to let Kiffin know how they felt, taunting and teasing him, as this win held a lot of value. Both teams will have successful seasons and are full of talent, so a matchup in the future is not impossible, and if it happens, countless people will tune in to view such an incredible display of talent and emotion.
