Kiffin to face Ole Miss for 1st time as LSU's coach Sept. 19

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 01: Lane Kiffin speaks at a press conference as he is introduced as the new head football coach of the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on December 01, 2025 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Tyler Kaufman / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Mark your calendars, football fans.

Lane Kiffin will face Ole Miss in Oxford as LSU's head coach for the first time Sept. 19, the SEC announced Thursday.

SEC OPENER FOR BOTH TEAMS 🍿

Lane Kiffin returns to Oxford in Week 3 👀 pic.twitter.com/6C6VJ4dCDd
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) December 12, 2025

The Week 3 matchup will be among the most talked-about regular-season games in college football next season after Kiffin left the Rebels for the Tigers to conclude a dramatic coaching saga.

Kiffin helped Ole Miss reach the College Football Playoff this season with an 11-1 record, but took LSU's vacant job. Although he wanted to coach the Rebels through their playoff run, the school chose to continue without him.

Ole Miss now faces Tulane on Dec. 20 with former defensive coordinator Pete Golding as its new head coach.

The SEC announced the full schedule for its teams Thursday. Kiffin and LSU will kick off their 2026 season against Clemson on Sept. 5, while Ole Miss will begin the new campaign versus Louisville in Nashville.