Week 3 already has its powder keg. Lane Kiffin is heading back to Oxford with LSU to face the program he walked away from, and Ole Miss is preparing for a reception that could get ugly. Security is already being ramped up for the hostile homecoming, and now Donald Trump has been dragged into the chaos, with rumors swirling that the US president could attend the LSU-Ole Miss showdown.

Per Irish Star, Ole Miss AD Keith Carter addressed the growing rumors that Donald Trump could show up at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for Lane Kiffin’s return to Oxford. For now, though, it is still just talk. Carter made it clear that Ole Miss has received no official word from Trump’s camp.

“We have not heard anything from President Trump’s camp officially,” he told SuperTalk Mississippi. “I’ve kind of heard the rumors as well. There are some Ole Miss folks who are close to the president, and they’ve mentioned that that could potentially happen. But as of today, we have not heard anything officially from his team, so we’ll continue to go with that for now.”

And if Trump does show up, this would be anything but a casual visit.

“Obviously, that would be a big undertaking from a standpoint of logistics and getting him and all of his entourage in and out (of Oxford) with airspace and security, those types of things,” Carter said.

Carter added that Ole Miss would likely know by now if the president were actually coming. Either way, Oxford is already preparing for a chaotic weekend.

No. 7 LSU arrives after beating Clemson 51-10 and Louisiana Tech 45-14. No. 8 Ole Miss opened with wins over Louisville and Charlotte. It is the first top-10 matchup at Vaught-Hemingway since 2014, but the rankings are hardly the biggest storyline.

That belongs to Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin left Ole Miss last November after leading the Rebels to an 11-1 regular season, bolting for LSU just two days after the Egg Bowl with Ole Miss still waiting on its postseason fate. The split only got messier from there.

Several Ole Miss staffers followed him to Baton Rouge, while Princewill Umanmielen, TJ Dottery, and Winston Watkins Jr. also ended up on LSU’s roster. Add in the controversy surrounding Kiffin’s explanation for leaving, and this was never going to feel like a normal road game.

Ole Miss knows it.

Security has been increased around Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and downtown Oxford, with university officials and local authorities coordinating the operation. Mounted officers from Mobile and New Orleans are also expected to assist with crowd control and public safety.

And that is before a possible presidential visit gets added to the mix.

Lane Kiffin isn’t getting distracted by the noise

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has already turned the security conversation into something of a spectacle. Speaking to ESPN, he joked about sending Lane Kiffin into Oxford on an F-16 and the LSU team on a C-130, while suggesting the National Guard might be needed. Keith Carter wasn’t interested.

“Honestly, I’ve kind of tuned out the Governor of Louisiana,” he said. “That’s not something that we’re focused on here on campus. We’re going to host a football game. It’s going to be a great game with the two teams on the field, a Top 10-ranked matchup. And we’re going to make sure we have plenty of security, the game’s going to go on, and everyone is going to be just fine.”

That attitude is probably necessary. Because Lane Kiffin himself knows what is waiting for him. During his Monday news conference, he acknowledged that his players have already been warned about the atmosphere.

“I guess there’s real safety issues and stuff, so there’s people that have a plan for that,” he said. “I told the players today, ‘Man, you don’t have anything to worry about as far as, like, attention on you all week and everything. There’s going to be so much attention, hatred, everything on me. You just get to go play.’”

Saturday night, Donald Trump may or may not be in the building. But Keith Carter’s message is that Ole Miss will be ready either way.