It's not a 1 vs. 2 matchup or even last week's showdown featuring No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Texas.
So why does No. 7 LSU's visit to No. 8 Mississippi feel like a game of the year candidate?
There has been nothing normal about the build-up for Saturday night's game, which is the first top-10 matchup between these teams since 1962.
It started late last year when coach Lane Kiffin left the Rebels to take the LSU job and a $91 million contract just as the team
he had coached for six years was days away from its first appearance in the College Football Playoff. Kiffin wanted to stay, but Ole Miss moved on to coach Pete Golding and advanced to the CFP semifinals. LSU finished 7-6, capped by a loss in the Texas Bowl.
The off-field storylines haven't stopped since. Kiffin's comments about whether Black players could be recruited to Ole Miss, lawsuits alleging Ole Miss transfers owe big money for reneging on their NIL deals and LSU’s now-abandoned defiance of rules against rostering former pro players have only brightened the spotlight for this one.
LSU threw another wrinkle into the mix by saying midweek that quarterback Sam Leavitt was “doubtful” to play, sparking immediate fan accusations of gamesmanship. He's been upgraded since and is expected to start.
Kiffin himself acknowledged there could be “hatred” in the stands Saturday. Security has been dramatically increased as authorities expect 100,000 people in Oxford, a town whose school-year population of about 25,000 is virtually all students.
LSU leads the overall series between these border rivals 65-39-3, but Ole Miss has won three of the past five meetings, including last year in Oxford. The Tigers opened as 2 1/2-point favorites after giving up just two offensive touchdowns through two games, but they will be challenged by a pair of Heisman Trophy contenders in Ole Miss' backfield: quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy.
The winner improves to 3-0 — and gets savory bragging rights.
If Clemson and North Carolina were playing better football, their matchup Saturday would have a lot of appeal for the Xs and Os.
Instead, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and the Tar Heels' Bill Belichick are under major scrutiny over whether either is right for the job anymore.
North Carolina went 4-8 last season in Belichick's first year and investigators this week said they examined a range of allegations tied to potential drug use, inappropriate relationships and NCAA rule violations in the football program. It is a startling list considering Belichick was hired less than two years ago on a five-year deal that included $10 million guaranteed in each of the first three years.
General manager Michael Lombardi resigned earlier this month, and Belichick's son, Steve, will not return to his job as defensive coordinator.
With all that going on, North Carolina can improve to 3-0 with a win.
Clemson got off to a 1-1 start after going 7-6 a year ago and failing to reach the ACC championship game for only the third time in the past 11 years.
Swinney is 8-7 since taking the Tigers to the CFP in 2024, which was six years after the second of his two national championships. He has shrugged off criticism that he could be using the transfer portal more to land talented players, and he is tied to Clemson until 2031. The 10-year, $115 million deal signed before the 2022 season means his buyout, if fired before Jan. 1, would total $57 million.
There is a good one in the ACC: No. 16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville, the league leaders in total offense featuring SMU's Kevin Jennings (402.5 yard per game) and Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz (375.0).
Both are eager to keep pace with No. 5 Miami, which beat Wake Forest 33-20 on Friday night as Darian Mensah completed 30 of 34 passes, including his first 24 attempts, for 220 yards and three touchdowns,.
In the Big 12, two of the favorites opened league play with a terrific game Friday night in Lubbock, where No. 13 Texas Tech held on for a 28-26 win over No. 22 Houston. Cougars QB Conner Weigman came up just short of a 2-point conversion in the final minute, a play that went to the Big 12 replay review room — the broadcast audience was able to watch and listen to the analysis — before it was upheld.
There also are several intriguing matchups pitting 2-0 teams that can be best viewed as measuring stick games, including Virginia Tech at Maryland, Mississippi State at South Carolina and these:
— Florida at Auburn. Gators QB Aaron Philo, who will make his first road start, has completed 76% of his passes with five touchdowns. Byrum Brown, who has been new Auburn coach Alex Golesh's starting QB for all or part of four seasons, was a 1,000-yard rusher last year.
— No. 25 Virginia vs. West Virginia in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mountaineers, 2-0 for the first time since 2018, are playing their border-state rival for the first time since 2002.
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