Lane Kiffin has had mustard bottles and boo birds hurled at him. Now fans are adding F-bombs to the mix.
The LSU coach was the object of someone's ire during the Tigers' home drubbing by No. 9 Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 7, as the 15th-ranked Tigers dropped a 31-13 stunner to the Crimson Tide. Despite out-gaining Kalen DeBoer and Co. by 172 yards, LSU scored only one touchdown and failed all four of its fourth-down attempts (not including a defensive pass interference against Alabama).
It all came to a head at the roughly five-minute mark of the fourth quarter when, facing 1st-and-10 from the Alabama 15-yard line, a fan could be heard screaming, "Hey Lane,
(expletive) you!" (warning: explicit language used). The drive ended with a turnover on downs as Alabama sniffed out a tunnel screen for a minimal gain.
What makes the expletive more humorous (or infuriating, depending on your allegiances) is the fact it's uncertain whether it was an Alabama fan or LSU fan who uttered the profane phrase. Kiffin was a wildly successful offensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban from 2014-16, but left Tuscaloosa in turbulence, as Saban dismissed him before the 2017 CFP championship game as he took over at Florida Atlantic.
If it was an LSU fan, the ire was certainly more focused on the game at that moment: Despite the raw numbers (Sam Leavitt completed 35 of 47 passes for 380 yards), he also had no touchdown passes and threw a costly pick before halftime. The LSU rushing offense was almost a non-factor, as the Tigers ran 33 times for 77 yards.
Of course, there was also the fourth-down conversion blunders, which saw the Tigers attempt and fail four fourth-down conversion attempts, including 4th-and-10 at the 25-yard line with eight minutes left to go and the Tigers trailing 24-13.
Kiffin's first season almost certainly hasn't gone how LSU fans would have envisioned it — or, rather, didn't justify all the offseason drama Kiffin brought with him from Mississippi. All things considered, it's not overly surprising to hear fans voicing their frustrations.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Hey Lane, (expletive) you!' Fan hurls F-bomb at Lane Kiffin as Alabama thrashes LSU
