In front of a record-shattering crowd of 70,033 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Ole Miss secured sweet revenge (32-24) against its former head coach, Lane Kiffin. The Week 3 game also changed the dynamics of the rankings. A loss was always going to lead to a drop for LSU. However, even Lane Kiffin wouldn’t have expected the extent of the fall.
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In the newly released Coaches Poll after Week 3 of the 2026 college football season, LSU has dropped down four spots to No. 11. Heading into the Ole Miss game, the Tigers were ranked No. 7 in the Coaches Poll. At the same time, the Rebels entered the fixture as the No. 9 team.
Pete Golding’s team has now jumped three spots to No. 6. As a result, Ryan Day’s Ohio State had to drop by a spot to No. 7. The top 5 remained unchanged, with Texas continuing to claim the top spot, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Indiana, and Miami.
This wasn’t the only blow to Lane Kiffin’s team. The AP Top 25 also delivered a similar ranking after Week 3. However, rather than dropping four spots, the fall was only three. LSU is now ranked No. 10. On the other hand, Pete Golding’s Ole Miss is now the 4th-ranked team in college football. Just like the Coaches Poll, Ohio State dropped by a spot here as well.
Beyond LSU’s tumble, Texas A&M suffered the worst collapse of the weekend, as reported by On3 on September 20. They crashed 12 spots all the way down to No. 20 after an unexpected 31-21 home loss to Kentucky. The AP Top 25 has Mike Elko’s team at No. 23.
But not all is lost for Lane Kiffin. We’re still early into the season. In Week 4, LSU will host Texas A&M. The game would have had more riding on it had the two teams not lost in Week 3. But it is still a chance for Kiffin to get a win over a ranked opponent.
The Tigers’ momentum will ramp up in October. This stretch is highly manageable but leaves zero margin for error. A four-game sweep through October will put LSU at 7-1 before they enter their bye week. However, Kentucky won’t be an easy game, considering how the Wildcats played against Alabama (first half) and Texas A&M. Even Mississippi State will be a handful. On the other hand, Auburn and McNeese State should be easy wins.
The final stretch of the season will be the ultimate test for the Tigers in November. This month-long test will kick off on November 7 when LSU hosts Alabama at Tiger Stadium. The pressure will intensify immediately, on November 14, as LSU hosts the Texas Longhorns.
If LSU can protect its home turf through these consecutive high-stakes matchups, it will firmly cement itself as a national championship contender. A similarly hostile environment awaits Oxford on November 21, when the Tigers hit the road to play the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium.
Lane Kiffin got stung by the QB he brought to Division 1
The highly anticipated, hostile matchup in Oxford saw Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss dismantle Kiffin’s squad. Interestingly, LSU head coach and his offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis Jr., were the ones who recruited Chambliss to Ole Miss. However, after Kiffin left for Baton Rouge, the QB refused to follow his head coach to LSU and stayed put at Oxford. In Week 3, he showed Kiffin what he could’ve had.
Chambliss helped Ole Miss jump straight to a 17-0 lead and secured the win with a late 14-yard touchdown. However, LSU engineered a furious second-half rally behind quarterback Sam Leavitt and running back Dilin Jones. The Tigers scored 17 unanswered points. They capped off the comeback with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 24-24.
However, the tie didn’t last long. Chambliss responded by leading a 13-play and a 75-yard drive. He took it himself on a 14-yard bootleg to the pylon to recapture the lead with just over six minutes remaining.
After a direct snap to JT Lindsey secured the crucial 2-point conversion, Ole Miss went up by 8. LSU drove the ball deep into Rebel territory on its final possession. However, a fourth-down pass from Leavitt deflected off a defensive lineman and was intercepted in the end zone by Jaylon Braxton to secure the victory.