If you needed proof that rivalry week stirs up the perfect blend of drama and humor in college football, the lead-up to this Egg Bowl delivered it. With Ole Miss chasing its first-ever CFP berth and Lane Kiffin’s coaching future dangling over the sport, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer happily added fuel when asked for his Egg Bowl prediction. 

“You mean when Lane (Kiffin)’s gonna put three hats on the table and pick one? I don’t know,” Shane Beamer said in his postgame speech on November 23 after the Gamecocks’ 51-7 demolition of Coastal Carolina. “You guys probably know more than I do. I know, with a wife who’s a Mississippi State grad, she’s more focused on the Egg Bowl and who wins that game as I will be. But, you know, fascinating situation. He’s obviously done a great job at Ole Miss, and that game has a lot of meaning this year.”

Ole Miss has officially set November 28 as Kiffin Day where he would coach the Egg Bowl then pick a future. AD Keith Carter met with Lane Kiffin on Friday to finalize that plan, finally giving Rebels fans a timeline even if the answer remains a mystery. But the suspense only sharpens the stakes of Friday’s showdown.

Ole Miss, sitting at 10-1 and a 7.5-point favorite, is rolling into Starkville with history on the line. Mississippi State, at 5-6, is fighting for bowl eligibility, bragging rights, and a shot to sabotage their biggest rival. Lane Kiffin keeps brushing off the noise saying he’s not getting in on any speculation but rumors swirl nonstop. Family trips to Gainesville and Baton Rouge only added to the curiosity. LSU is reportedly dangling $98 million plus a $25 million NIL war chest. And that’s why the Gamecocks HC’s playful jab landed deeper than most realized.

Shane Beamer wasn’t just joking. He admires Lane Kiffin. 

“He’s a brilliant offensive mind,” he said even before Ole Miss handed South Carolina a 30-14 loss. “He’s a brilliant coach. Got a lot of respect for him and what he’s done at that program.”

And while the Egg Bowl madness rages in Mississippi, another rivalry is about to take center stage in Shane Beamer’s own backyard.

Rivalry week hits Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks

It’s officially rivalry week in South Carolina. Clemson and SC may be a combined 10-12 this season, but those numbers vanish the moment helmets collide. 

“It’s the state championship,” Dabo Swinney said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 11-0 or 0-11. This game means a lot to a lot of people. It’s a forever game. There might be some games along the way, you’ll say, ‘What happened in that game? I don’t really remember’ — you remember this one. Everybody lives with this one, this is one of those games.”

And he’s right. People don’t remember third-quarter drives at Missouri or red-zone miscues in September, but they’ll remember who wins this one. And this year’s version feels chaotic in the best way.

Clemson just clinched its 27th straight bowl bid. South Carolina, meanwhile, won’t reach the postseason for the fourth time in seven years. Yet Vegas favors the Gamecocks by 2.5 at home. USC is 3-2 ATS as a favorite but 0-3 after a win. Clemson is just 4-7 ATS overall, but 3-1 away from Death Valley. And those numbers only deepen the sense that anything can happen Saturday night.

LaNorris Sellers is the spark plug again, fresh off 356 yards against Coastal Carolina. He’s the same QB who stunned Clemson 17-14 in Death Valley last season. Shane Beamer has taken two of the last three from Dabo Swinney, though the Tigers escaped Columbia 16-7 in 2023. And now, with him balancing Lane Kiffin chaos and Palmetto State pressure, the drama couldn’t be better timed.