Lane Kiffin has humorous take on kickoff times for Ole Miss games against LSU, Georgia
Lane Kiffin has been a great media personality since joining Ole Miss. The eccentric head coach has never been afraid to put himself out there, and did so again following the Rebels’ dominant Week 4 win over Tulane.
In his postgame press conference, Kiffin was asked about hosting No. 3 LSU at 3:30 p.m. E.T. next week, as opposed to at night, which is when the two faced off in Baton Rouge last year. Unsurprisingly, Kiffin didn’t mince words when discussing potential scheduling biases.
“I’m over it. I just know what it’s gonna be. I told the commissioner… ‘we’re gonna play LSU, it’s gonna be day [here]. We’re gonna go down there, and it’s gonna be a night game,'” Lane Kiffin said. “It is what it is. I’m sure we’ll be at night at Georgia, too… if you set [expectations] that way, you won’t be upset when it happens.”
Kiffin’s response drew laughs, but he doesn’t appear to be kidding. Per Football Reference, Ole Miss has hosted a ranked opponent at night (7:00 p.m. E.T. or later) just once — Nov. 13, 2021 vs. No. 11 Texas A&M — in Kiffin’s career. The Rebels have held 7 home conference games at night in total in his 5-plus seasons. Conversely, Ole Miss has gone on the road at night 9 times as a ranked team in Kiffin’s tenure. Three of those games (Auburn, Georgia and Alabama) were against ranked teams.
Prior to Week 3’s nighttime kick versus Arkansas, that distribution was wider. And there’s plenty of time for it to grow again. After Ole Miss battles Georgia in Athens, they’re set to face Oklahoma in Norman. If both of those contests are at night, Kiffin’s complaint will have merit. For now, though, he’ll have to spend his time preparing for the Tigers.