Lane Kiffin suggested this week that Ole Miss game operations staff kept music playing too long during LSU’s snaps in the Tigers’ loss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, a comment he made three days after the game during the SEC coaches’ teleconference call on Wednesday.
Asked about quarterback Sam Leavitt’s struggles in the game, Kiffin pointed to crowd noise and in-stadium music continuing after the snap.
“Those games happen, and a lot of factors go into that,” Kiffin said. “We didn’t protect really well around him [Leavitt]; the crowd noise and music being played all the way through the snap when the center’s hand is on the ball. Again and again.”
SEC rules require stadium music to stop once the center touches the ball. Kiffin did not directly blame the loss on the music, but the comment drew attention given how the timing looked days after the final score.
An Emotional Return to Oxford
The Week 3 matchup marked Kiffin’s first game back in Oxford since leaving Ole Miss for LSU just days before the Rebels’ first-ever College Football Playoff appearance, and it produced one of the most charged atmospheres in recent college football memory.
Ole Miss announced during the game that Vaught-Hemingway Stadium set a new all-time attendance record, with 70,033 fans in the stands.
How the Game Unfolded
Ole Miss used that energy to build a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter and took a 24-7 advantage into halftime. LSU fought back with 17 unanswered points, but Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss again proved the difference-maker late, leading the Rebels to a 32-24 win.
Chambliss finished with 363 passing yards, while Leavitt threw for 158 yards and added 63 yards rushing for LSU.
