The eyes of the college football world are on Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday night as LSU coach Lane Kiffin makes his return to Ole Miss after his ugly departure last season.
It's already a rivalry matchup, and there's certainly some added emotion for this one. There may be no love lost between these two fan bases, but Kiffin and Mississippi coach Pete Golding don't seem to be letting it affect them.
When they greeted each other on the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium before the game, they were all laughs and smiles, even appearing to get into a faux-wrestling match before embracing.
All love before the game between Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding 🙌 pic.twitter.com/t3C7Cj5K6V
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 19, 2026
Golding served as Ole Miss' defensive coordinator last year under Kiffin.
When the latter left for Baton Rouge, he brought quite a few staffers with him. Golding, however, opted to stay in Oxford and was quickly named the permanent head coach.
He led the program to two College Football Playoff wins before falling to Miami in the semifinals. Now, he's looking to beat the coach whose departure made him an SEC head coach.
Perhaps for that reason, he doesn't seem to hold much animosity toward his former boss.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding were all laughs before LSU-Ole Miss
