The newly appointed CBS Sports analyst and former LSU head coach, Brian Kelly, has given his predictions for his former team for the upcoming season. Surprisingly, Kelly is high on the Tigers for a majority of their schedule. However, his prediction won’t bode well for Lane Kiffin given the importance of a specific 2026 matchup.

“I think this really comes down to what quarterback plays better,” Brian Kelly said on CBS Sports on August 10 while predicting the outcome of the LSU Tigers vs. Ole Miss. “If Trinidad Chambliss plays to the level that we all think he can, this can be a game that Ole Miss beats LSU.”

Lane Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss wasn’t well-received by fans. He not only left the team for a conference rival just before the playoffs but also took some active assistant coaches with him. Fortunately, it didn’t derail the Rebels’ postseason. The LSU head coach added fuel to the fire with his comments about Ole Miss’s past in March 2026.

Now, everyone at Oxford has marked the date on the calendar when LSU travels to Ole Miss in Week 2 of the 2026 season. And if Kelly is to be believed, Pete Golding’s Ole Miss can get out of the game with a win against their former head coach. But it all depends on Trinidad Chambliss.

Chambliss ended the 2025 season playing better than almost any quarterback in college football. He finished his breakout year with 3,937 passing yards and 22 touchdowns.

The QB carried Ole Miss to a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance. Down the stretch, he logged three consecutive 300-yard regular-season games. He then completely shredded Georgia for 362 passing yards in the playoff quarterfinal, completing 13 straight passes at one point. 

Kelly emphasized that if LSU cannot contain the ground game, Chambliss will manipulate the play-action to destroy them. Chambliss won’t be alone, as junior running back Kewan Lacy is also back for another year. He led the SEC last year with 1,567 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. Because defenses are forced to stack the box to stop Lacy, Chambliss is granted highly favorable single-coverage situations downfield. This duo can be deadly for the new head coach, Kiffin.

If the Rebels can successfully establish the run early, they will completely wear down LSU’s defensive front, allowing Chambliss to control the clock and ice the game in the fourth quarter.

In LSU’s 12-game schedule, as per Kelly, there might be another loss. LSU’s matchup against the Texas Longhorns on November 14 could be that hiccup for Kiffin. “I think that they probably get beat at the end here, and I expect that Texas will win this game.”

Other than these two games, former head coach Kelly has been very gracious towards his former team. Despite getting fired, he still believes that they hold national championship-winning caliber with Kiffin. His final verdict for the team before the season starts is a bit positive.

“Lane’s done a great job in the portal. And then offensively, Lane and Charlie Weiss will have that offense running quite well, Kelly added in his prediction. “They’re like every other team. They’ve got to keep their quarterback healthy. If their quarterback’s healthy, then they’re going to be minimally a 10-2 team.”