There will be moments on Saturday night in Oxford when it feels as though Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding are playing a game of chess against each other in a matchup that has been brewing for nine months.
After a long offseason, and four games between both teams, the LSU Tigers will face Ole Miss in what has been the most discussed-talked-about game in recent memory.
The young kids call it ‘pure cinema’ when describing a moment that takes place during a game that is built for a movie ending. When LSU gets off the bus on Saturday afternoon, the script will write itself on what should be one of the most insane atmospheres we will witness this season in college football.
But, who is the pressure on?
Is it Ole Miss, who has one of the more talented teams in the country, that faces the obstacle of making sure their jilted ex doesn’t come back into the house and steal a win?
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Or, is it on Lane Kiffin to make his grand return to Oxford and lead his football team to a win over the group he left for LSU?
“I told the players today, man, you don’t have anything to worry about as far like attention on you all week,” Kiffin said on Monday. “There’s going to be so much attention, hatred, everything on me, you just get to go play.
“I said, ‘really, the pressure is on them (Ole Miss)’. They’re the team that, we won seven games last year and they won thirteen. They return two Heisman candidates. How often has that ever happened in the same backfield? Second longest winning streak in the country. You guys just get to go play, and the pressure is not on you.”
That’s certainly one way to look at this situation.
Let’s be clear about this: both teams are under the gun with this game.
For Ole Miss, this is about making sure that guy who left town for the perceived prettier girl doesn’t stroll back into town and rub your face in it.
As for Lane Kiffin, he knows exactly how this buildup will play out. He’s not only coaching football, but he’s also selling tickets. Luckily for him, he’s already accomplished that over the offseason, which started after he bolted Oxford for Baton Rouge before the Rebels started preparing for a college football playoff run.
But, he will downplay the entire ordeal, which should be expected until sometime Friday afternoon when LSU starts their trek to northern Mississippi.
“It is unusual, one team you built and now another team you’re building,” Kiffin lamented on Monday. “I know obviously a lot is going to be made about me, but this is about the players being prepared really well and playing really well.
“You know, Pete’s (Golding) not gonna tackle anybody, I’m not going to throw any touchdowns…”
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Yes, there will be a majority of the attention towards Lane Kiffin, and let’s not act as though he doesn’t bring it on himself. But, he also knows what lies ahead when he gets off the bus outside the stadium.
For Pete Golding, this is the new norm in college football, though it will obviously be a bit spicier on Saturday in Oxford.
“Obviously the former players and all the former coaches and relationships you’ve had, that’s not unique to one game any more,” Pete Golding said on Monday. “It’s gonna be no different when we play Missouri.
“Now, with the portal and coaches going somewhere every year, there’s always relationships that are there. Obviously this one is unique with their head ball coach who recruited them being on the other side, But, they know it’s a top-ten matchup, regardless of who you play…”
Why wouldn’t they be?
Sure, things turned into pure chaos when Kiffin was essentially trying to hold Ole Miss hostage on his way out the door for LSU, but that doesn’t mean both coaches stopped talking with each other. Through this all, Golding ended up being awarded the Ole Miss job after Kiffin left.
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So, from a personal aspect, both are thriving in this space.
“From a friendship standpoint, I developed a really good relationship with him over three and half years,” Golding noted about Lane Kiffin. “From a football, professional, standpoint we don’t bounce ideas off each other or anything like that, like we used to.
“I’ll definitely receive a text or call about other stuff that goes on, and things like that. Definitely, still friends.”
As for keeping the focus on the main thing this week, the Ole Miss coach summed it up in the most logical way for his players that could be sucked into the off-field distractions this week.
“You got Ella Langley, College Gameday, all this stuff. For me, it’s like high school homecoming for these dudes. Like, if you focus on the wrong shit, that homecoming dance ain’t very fun after you get your butt whipped on a Friday night,” Pete Golding mentioned about the buildup.
But make no mistake about it, these coaches are going to war on Saturday night and would love nothing more than to outdo the other.
Deep down, both Pete Golding and Lane Kiffin understand the ramifications of this upcoming showdown in Oxford.
Let’s see which one can call ‘checkmate’ first.
