Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is calling for calm, and a bit of humor, ahead of LSU coach Lane Kiffin’s first game back against his former team, Ole Miss.
Kiffin left Oxford for Baton Rouge in 2025, departing Ole Miss just two days after closing out the regular season with an 11-1 record. His return to face the Rebels has drawn plenty of chatter from fans and analysts wondering whether the atmosphere could turn hostile.
Landry leaned into the tension with a joke about how LSU’s team should even travel to the game.
“I’m thinking about having to send him in on an F-16, and maybe the team on a C-130,” Landry told ESPN. “Security is going to be really tight. You know, we might need the National Guard out there to protect our team. I think it’s going to be an interesting weekend.”
Landry said his office has been in touch with Ole Miss officials to make sure security is in place for the game, while also asking fans on both sides to keep things friendly.
“I know that we’ve been talking with Mississippi and making sure that we have adequate security for the team and coach,” Landry said. “But I’m hoping that we can go there and play in complete Southern hospitality and have a great, great game.”
Kiffin was asked about the buildup during a Monday press conference in Baton Rouge, where he said he’d rather the attention fall on him than on his players.
“We talk about that,” Kiffin said. “I guess there’s real safety issues and stuff, so there’s people that have a plan for that. I told the players today, ‘Man, you don’t have anything to worry about as far as, like, attention on you all week and everything. There’s going to be so much attention, hatred, everything on me. You just get to go play.'”
In Oxford, Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding urged fans to keep their focus on football rather than any grudge over Kiffin’s departure.
“To me, what this place has always been about and why so many people love coming here and respect this place, is because of the people that are here,” Golding told reporters. “And how they make them feel when they come here. That’s always been something for me. When you come here and meet Ole Miss alumni and all that, they are so respectful.”
“Let’s not lose that over a game, over a person, over anyone else like that. There’s nothing wrong with being competitive, being in the moment, being really loud, and being an unbelievable fan. But at the end of the day, don’t lose what we have created and what they have created for so long, which is a really unique place with really good people that’s really hard to play,” he added.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login