Put out the Coke bottles: Lane Kiffin takes Ole Miss to LSU's Death Valley

Hopefully Saturday night's fight between Lane Kiffin and Brian Kelly under the lights of Tiger Stadium will live up to the hype. Both coaches have been waiting for another meeting between Ole Miss and LSU since last year's classic game in Oxford, which the Rebels won 55-49.

Although it will be the players on the court that will determine the outcome of this game, that doesn't change the enormous attention that Kiffin and Kelly bring to Death Valley on the sidelines.

We've seen arguments arise between coaches over the years, as Lane loves to troll various programs on social media, but it seems like the Ole Miss head coach enjoys the Tigers a little more to nudge than others. If you recall, Kiffin began one of his press conferences with a tirade about the amount of sugar in Coca-Cola, a sponsor of the NCAA and SEC.

Then he provided another talking point when USC beat LSU in the season opener.

This led to Brian Kelly standing on the podium in Baton Rouge at the end of August with a “smart water” in his hand, which could be said to be a cola product, which was clearly due to the fact that the LSU head coach had a little fun with Kiffin.

“Just a shout out to our sponsor Coke,” Brian Kelly said in August. “Smartwater, great Coke product. Minerals, vitamins. It's just great for you. It's refreshing. Healthy and Coke gives you all the products you need depending on what you like, and I love Smartwater.”

Did you expect anything different from Kelly, who has been slammed by Kiffin on social media over the years?

After last season's 55-49 offensive performance, I expect we're heading toward another possible shootout tonight in front of over 100,000 fans in Baton Rouge.

Saturday night has massive implications for the College Football Playoff

After the loss to Kentucky, the Rebels found themselves in a very difficult situation heading into the playoffs. Ole Miss needed to win over the next two weeks and took the first step this past weekend with a win against South Carolina. If Lane Kiffin and the Rebels were to lose on Saturday night, I don't want to say the season is over for Ole Miss, but they would have to top the standings to play for a shot at the National Championship at the end of December.

But the same can be said for LSU considering how crazy this college football season has been. As we saw in Nashville last weekend, there is no longer an easy game for these teams, and that could be a daunting challenge for the loser on Saturday night.

Things took a nasty turn for Ole Miss on Friday night when the football program released a statement about “fake injuries” that were at the center of the conversation surrounding the Rebels. All of this comes as multiple opponents in the SEC and national football officials have expressed concerns that Ole Miss is trying to gain the upper hand in dead-ball scenarios.

Sources tell OutKick that over the past five weeks of football, a barrage of videos have been sent to the conference and national level targeting Ole Miss and the alleged fakery of injuries. Additionally, we were told that things had gotten so bad compared to previous years that instances were being sent weekly to the national office, not just the SEC.

The increase in fake injury complaints, particularly at Ole Miss, has increased significantly this season.

“It’s worth taking three to four more timeouts per game,” several SEC coaches told OutKick on Friday night.

I would imagine the ESPN cameras will have their sights set on every single Ole Miss player who goes down tonight, especially since the Rebels drew attention with the seemingly unprovoked statement on Friday night.

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI – SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels speaks with head coach Brian Kelly of the LSU Tigers before their game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 30, 2023 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)

If you had told me before the season that Ole Miss could be out of the playoffs after the second weekend in October, I probably would have called you crazy. But here we are, with the Tigers out for revenge while Brian Kelly would love nothing more than to add another loss to the Rebels' single-season record in 2024.

The same goes for Lane Kiffin, who is counting on quarterback Jaxson Dart and his offense to make a splash against an LSU defense that has been suspect at times this season.

Either way, as both coaches head to midfield Saturday night as their teams warm up for this important SEC game, you can sit through the social media jabs and embarrassing compliments they shared leading up to this game let.

All each coach wants to do is panic the other for the rest of this season. Then the interactions on social media become really entertaining.