LSU-Ole Miss game could be a nonconference contest if LSU is expelled from SEC, per report
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LSU and Ole Miss are set to play a gigantic game on Sept. 19 in Oxford that was already set to be one of the most anticipated showdowns of the 2026 season with Lane Kiffin making his return to the program he left before last season ended.
But the primetime showcase that will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC as a highlight to Week 3 could be off-the-charts incredible for another reason. According to a report by Yahoo Sports insider Ross Dellenger on Tuesday afternoon, the matchup between the 8th-ranked Tigers and 9th-ranked Rebels might not even be an SEC game anymore by the time the programs kick things off that night.
“If SEC presidents vote to expel LSU, it is unclear when such a decision takes effect. There are varying answers across the league as this is unprecedented. If the expulsion is immediate, says one, ‘the LSU-Ole Miss game would be a nonconference game if it is still played,'” wrote Dellenger in a social media post on Tuesday.
With that potential absurdity as a backdrop, the next 10 days or so and what happens or doesn’t happen regarding LSU’s place in the SEC will determine how the Sept. 19 matchup is framed, whether it remains an SEC game or suddenly becomes a nonconference game in Oxford.
LSU and Ole Miss could really be in different conferences by the time they hook up on Sept. 19, but no matter what happens with that pending issue they’ll both be gunning for a berth in the College Football Playoff. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about both teams’ chances to be in the field of 12 come December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
