Former LSU football head coach Brian Kelly made an appearance on CBS Sports' Inside College Football show and discussed the pending matchup between LSU and Ole Miss. Kelly believes the Rebels have the edge in the Week 3 contest.
"We already know what the outcome is going to be," Kelly said. "This is going to be a close game but I'm going to lean towards the home team here. When you go on the road in the SEC, the home crowd makes a difference."
Perhaps nobody knows the rivalry between LSU and Ole Miss better than Kelly. He coached the Tigers from 2022 to mid-2025, facing Ole Miss four times. In the final iteration, the Tigers fell 24-19 in Oxford. It was the first of three losses in four games that led to Kelly's firing.
But LSU has a new coach
and, in some ways, so does Ole Miss. The Rebels retain quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy from the 2025 squad that made a run to the College Football Playoff semifinals, but they also lost their head coach as Lane Kiffin now leads LSU.
The 2026 matchup will be the most heated yet as Kiffin makes his return to the program he led for six seasons. Kelly believes the crowd inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will give the Rebels a much-needed edge against an LSU team that already has two blowout wins.
"When you go on the road in the SEC, the home crowd makes a difference."@CoachBrianKelly is leaning towards Ole Miss beating LSU. #ICF pic.twitter.com/3zYYk68CwU
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 16, 2026
"The home team has won this matchup in the last four years," Kelly said. "It's been the home team winning close games. Overtime. One-score games."
This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Former LSU coach Brian Kelly says Ole Miss has edge vs LSU
