The drama is already building for Lane Kiffin's return to Ole Miss

There are still 129 days until Lane Kiffin returns to Ole Miss as LSU’s head coach, but the college football world is already buzzing about it. On Wednesday, ESPN unveiled a handful of kickoff times at Disney’s Upfront presentation. To no one’s surprise, LSU at Ole Miss in Week Three will kick off in primetime, at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.

It’s always hard to get a hotel room in Oxford during football season. For the weekend of September 19? The cheapest rooms are already in the thousands of dollars, four months ahead of time. AirBnBs are even higher. The kickoff time was just one piece of news about the game this week, which is shaping up to be the most anticipated of the college football season.

On Monday, Vanity Fair’s feature on Lane Kiffin was released, which included some eye-opening quotes from Kiffin about his former school, specifically its reputation with black families on the recruiting trail.

“[They would say], ‘Hey, Coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi,'” Kiffin said. “That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus’ diversity feels so great: ‘It feels like there’s no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.'”

Kiffin later backtracked, telling On3’s Wilson Alexander that his comments were not intended as a shot at Ole Miss, where he spent six years of his career. On Tuesday, Steve Sarkisian found a way to put down the Rebels while talking about Texas’ academic reputation compared to its rivals in an interview with USA Today.

“At Texas, we will only take 50% of a player’s academic credit hours,” Sarkisian told USA Today. “You may be a semester from graduating, but you’re going all the way back to 50% if you play here and want a degree. But at Ole Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree.”

Ouch. Those comments, and Kiffins, have gone viral, with Jon Sumrall even chiming in. Florida’s new coach was an assistant at Ole Miss during the 2018 season. He shared On3’s tweet about Sarkisian’s comments with the caption, “Grateful to coach at a top 10 public university that also offers advanced basket weaving!”

Grateful to coach at a top 10 public university that also offers advanced basket weaving! 🐊 https://t.co/eGhYWkETAx

— Jon Sumrall (@CoachJonSumrall) May 12, 2026

In two weeks, the league’s coaches, athletic directors, and presidents will convene at the SEC’s annual spring meetings at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Miramar Beach, Florida. With all these shots flying back and forth and the litany of issues facing the sport, those meetings will be far from boring. The same goes for SEC Media Days, which take place July 20-23 in Tampa, Florida.

By the time September 19 rolls around, the anticipation for Kiffin’s return to Oxford will be at a fever pitch. The Oxford Police Department can’t wait, sharing a sarcastic GIF when the late kickoff time was revealed.

https://t.co/crlm23HbSq pic.twitter.com/6thy9Qg48J

— Oxford Police Department (@OxfordPolice) May 13, 2026

A notable Week 2 kickoff time

ESPN also announced that Ohio State at Texas will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC on September 12. Why does that matter for Kentucky? The Cats host Alabama that day, the only SEC vs. SEC matchup in Week 2. ESPN probably won’t want to put the Crimson Tide up against the marquee game of the night. Alabama plays at noon in Week 1. That increases the chances that Alabama vs. Kentucky will be the 3:30 p.m. ET game on ABC.

We should get TV windows (early, afternoon, night, flex) for all of the SEC games next month. Until then, if you’re making plans for the Alabama game, you’re probably safe to pencil it in at 3:30 p.m. ET.

SEC Week 2 Matchups

Date	Matchup
9/12/2026	Arkansas at Utah
9/12/2026	Southern Miss at Auburn
9/12/2026	Campbell at Florida
9/12/2026	Western Kentucky at Georgia
9/12/2026	Alabama at Kentucky
9/12/2026	Louisiana Tech at LSU
9/12/2026	Charlotte at Ole Miss
9/12/2026	Mississippi State at Minnesota
9/12/2026	Missouri at Kansas
9/12/2026	Oklahoma at Michigan
9/12/2026	Towson at South Carolina
9/12/2026	Tennessee at Georgia Tech
9/12/2026	Ohio State at Texas
9/12/2026	Arizona State at Texas A&M
9/12/2026	Delaware at Vanderbilt

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