All eyes are on Lane Kiffin as he takes over for the LSU Tigers ahead of the 2026 college football season. While the Tigers’ schedule in the NCAA campaign has no shortage of marquee matchups, there is one that stands above the rest: Week 3 at Ole Miss. Kiffin’s return to Oxford is circled in red on every calendar, and perhaps even Brian Kelly’s, as he is intrigued to see how his official successor does in Baton Rouge.
Whether it’s some bitterness speaking or his most sincere thought, Kelly expects—like everybody around the college football landscape—a dogfight when the Tigers take on the Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. However, LSU’s former head coach—hired in 2021 and fired in 2025—predicts the home team to come away with the emotional victory.
“I think this really comes down to, you know, what quarterback plays better,” Kelly stated, via On3. “If Trinidad Chambliss plays to the level that we all think he can, this can be a game that Ole Miss beats LSU.”
The Tigers’ former head coach predicted this would be the program’s first loss of the 2026 NCAA campaign—and it may serve as a bucket of ice-cold water for Kiffin and LSU.
Brian Kelly during the 2025 college football season.
Kelly’s record prediction
Although Kelly believes Chambliss gives the University of Mississippi the edge over Sam Leavitt and LSU, his season prediction highlights how Kiffin’s team might recover from an early rude awakening.
Kelly predicted the Tigers to win their next six games after falling to the Rebels, including victories at Auburn and against Alabama. According to the former head coach’s expectations, LSU’s second loss of the campaign will come in Death Valley at the hands of the Texas Longhorns.
“This is difficult. I think that they probably get beat at the end here. I expect that Texas will win this game,” Kelly confessed.
All in all, however, Kelly predicts LSU will finish the 2026 NCAA season with a 10-2 record. With Kiffin’s Tigers’ losses coming against likely ranked teams, they should still make the College Football Playoff and may even make it to the SEC Championship Game.
The Game 2.0
Still, fans in Baton Rouge may not like the fact that the ex-head coach believes the Tigers will fall in the Magnolia State. The fanbase in Louisiana may not forgive Kelly for it. LSU at Ole Miss is arguably the biggest game of the season, not just for the Tigers and Rebels, but across the entire college football schedule.
