No matter the result, Lane Kiffin’s return to Ole Miss was bound to be must-see TV.
Saturday night’s bout in Oxford, Miss., had been circled and starred on calendars across the college football world since December, when Kiffin bailed on the Rebels right before the College Football Playoff and fled for LSU, a program with a better pedigree — and a better contract.
And with all eyes at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, both teams delivered what fans wanted as Ole Miss emerged with a 32-24 victory that could be dubbed the game of the year anyway, regardless of the pregame drama, vulgar chants and past bad blood between the two teams.
Though it didn’t look like a game of the year contender at halftime with Kiffin’s squad in a 24-7 hole and the Ole Miss crowd worked into a frenzy after a day-full of “F–k Lane Kiffin” chants.
But whatever Kiffin said to his players in the locker room worked.
After the Tigers punted to open the third quarter, Trinidad Chambliss threw an interception that almost seemed targeted for the hands of LSU cornerback Ja’Keem Jackson.
The pick led to a 17-0 Tigers spurt during which they made Ole Miss look inept on all sides of the ball.
Chambliss, who had been nearly flawless in the first half, was 3-of-12 passing on two straight drives and was sacked for a 20-yard loss on third down — much to the delight of Kiffin, who let out an emphatic fist pump after maintaining a neutral expression for much of the third quarter.
With the game tied at the beginning of the fourth quarter and all the momentum on the Tigers’ side, an LSU comeback win and Kiffin getting the last laugh seemed inevitable — until Chambliss reminded everyone that he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the college ranks.
The Ole Miss quarterback authored a 74-yard Rebels drive featuring two long passes and capped it by taking the ball himself on a flawless 14-yard run. They went for two and got LSU to jump twice before a short run by JT Lindsey put the Rebels up eight.
With just under six minutes left in the game, Kiffin and LSU were left with two tasks: score eight points and run down the clock to get to overtime.
It was a meticulous drive full of short runs, lateral passes and going for it on fourth down — twice.
The first time, LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt took it himself up the middle for a 13-yard gain to put the Tigers in prime position.
But facing a fourth and goal at the 6-yard line, Leavitt threw a rocket that was batted out of the air and into the hands of Ole Miss’ Jaylon Braxton in the end zone with under a minute left.
Chambliss kneeled twice to run down the clock, and Ole Miss fans stormed the field.
Sweet revenge, indeed.
