The seconds continue to tick off the clock for the beginning of the 2026 Ole Miss football season, and as anticipation ramps up, the spotlight remains on one specific game for the Rebels.
Trinidad Chambliss (6) against LSU September 27, 2025. Photo credit: Ole Miss athletics
Ole Miss and LSU are scheduled to meet in Oxford on September 19, 2026, marking the return of former head coach Lane Kiffin.
This will mark the first time Kiffin has entered Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as an opposing head coach since his time as the head man for the Tennessee Volunteers.
As the offseason has continued to bring many story lines, one of those remain Kiffin’s interview with Vanity Fair back in May.
Through the interview Kiffin mentions a plethora of things, but the one thing that overtook everyones attention, was his comments about Ole Miss having problems separating themselves from their confederate history.
In stating, Kiffin mentioned conversations with recruits during his time at Ole Miss, stating: Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.”
“That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Kiffin added in his comments to Vanity Fair.
The comments received backlash from many fans, former players, and parents and today Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss shared his thoughts on the comments.
“Me, personally, I don’t agree,” said Chambliss, who was coached by Kiffin last season. “I don’t think that what he said was truthful. … The Oxford community is nothing but love, and they care about their people no matter what they look like: brown, black, purple, yellow — you know what I mean?”
The comments from Kiffin continue to bring a pouring outrage of both fanbases, embracing the dramatic change that has come with Kiffin’s departure.
The Rebels quarterback is currently a counselor at the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
Despite the remarks from his former head coach, Chambliss continued to emphasize his thoughts on Oxford, and how welcoming the state of Mississippi has been to him. And although some players may have bad blood with Kiffin since his departure, Chambliss remains steadfast on appreciation for his former coach.
“There’s no bad blood between me and Kiff,” Chambliss said of his former coach, who left for LSU prior to Ole Miss’s playoff run. “Super grateful for him giving me the opportunity at Ole Miss to play under his system. But yeah, me and Kiff, we’re still cool.”
The matchup between the Rebels and the Tigers sparks much excitement for both fanbases, as the rivalry throughout this decade has been back and fourth, but this time around its much different, no matter how you look at it.
“Honestly, wilder and crazier than any game we had last year,” said Chambliss, who joked that Oxford’s S.W.A.T. team might be in attendance to beef up security.
“Yeah,” he added, “Oxford is going to be electric.”
Ole Miss will begin their season in Nashville, September 6, at 6:30 p.m. CT against the Louisville Cardinals at Nissan Stadium.