There may not be a more anticipated game the rest of the college football season — aside from the national championship game — than the grudge match between Ole Miss and LSU.
Saturday’s game marked the first time Lane Kiffin was back in Oxford since leaving Ole Miss to become the head coach at LSU.
The Rebels dominated the first half, storming out to a 17-0 lead before the Tigers found the end zone. However, LSU turned a 24-7 deficit into a 24-24 tie heading into the fourth quarter. That’s when Trinidad Chambliss worked his magic.
Donning his Superman cape, Chambliss led a 13-play, 74-yard scoring drive (without star running back Kewan Lacy) to seal the game-winning touchdown and send Kiffin back to Baton Rouge sorely disappointed.
Ole Miss Avoids Hefty Fine After Besting LSU, Lane Kiffin
After having 10 months to sit and stew about how Kiffin had done them dirty, the Rebels gave their fans the catharsis they’d been craving. Not only did Ole Miss get the better of its former coach, it also dashed Kiffin and LSU’s national championship hopes in the process.
As the final whistle blew following a Sam Leavitt interception in the end zone, fireworks light up the sky at Vaught Hemingway Stadium as Ole Miss celebrated the biggest win in recent memory.
Getting revenge on Kiffin would have been a great reason for Ole Miss fans to storm the field however, Rebels fans showed some restraint staying in their seats and saving the team a hefty fine in the process.
The SEC started cracking down on schools that stormed the field or the court after a win, increasing the fines for schools that violate that rule to $500,000 last year. The old rule started with a $100,000 fine that increased to $250,000 for a second offense, and $500,000 for a third offense.
“The motivation was ‘field rushing is field rushing, the first time or the 18th time,’” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said at the time. “The random nature of, if you’re the one getting rushed, it doesn’t feel good. It might be the first time (it happened) there, but it might be your sixth time in a row, literally.”
The SEC does reserve the right to rescind any field- or court-storming fines if the opposing team and all officials are allowed to get safely back to the locker room before the fans descend onto the field or court.
Ole Miss Applauded for Not Storming the Field
While many expected a field storming — and possibly something a bit more nefarious — if the Rebels beat Kiffin and the Tigers, the fact that they didn’t was celebrated by several social media users.
“Ole Miss didn’t storm the field. Played calling Baton Rouge over the speakers. Then the band played Neck. Respect,” one fan posted.
“10x cooler for Ole Miss not to storm the field there. Tremendous college football game,” another fan celebrated.
“Classy, professional show by Ole Miss fan base to NOT storm the field. They acted like professionals, like they expected to win,” a third fan rejoiced.
“I know it’s the SEC, but good move Ole Miss fans to not storm that field. Just another game,” one user pointed out.
“Enormous [expletive] move by Ole Miss to not storm the field here. That rules,” remarked another user.
“Haha! Why would Kirk (Herbstreit) or (Chris) Fowler think Ole’ Miss fans were going to storm the field?!?! They were the better team to begin with!” one fan wrote.
Ole Miss Avoids Massive Fine After Emotional Win Over Lane Kiffin and LSU