The New York Giants started their offseason practices last week and are already in Phase 2 of OTAs. However, it didn’t take long for Giants rookie offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa to get the best of his QB, Jaxson Dart. Word came down that Mauigoa, the Giants’ first-round pick, pulled a locker room prank on his new quarterback, a kind of prank that hit closer to home than any rookie should expect. When Dart opened what he thought was a late birthday gift, his reaction said everything: this wasn’t just a joke, it was a reminder of a night that still stings.

On May 27, Mauigoa posted a video on his Instagram story showing Dart opening a late 23rd birthday gift, only to instantly throw it away in funny frustration: his custom No. 2 jersey. The rookie had made the jersey with Dart’s real name and famous No. 2 on it, but the real reason behind the reaction was the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl patch placed on the front of the classic green and orange Miami jersey.

For anyone who follows college football, that patch tells the whole story. It’s from the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, which was the exact stage where Miami crushed Ole Miss 31-27 back in January, knocking Dart’s Alma mater out of the playoff. That’s what makes this jersey more than a prank. It’s the same green and orange that surfaced the night his college dreams hit a wall.

Dart’s immediate reaction in the video was priceless and went viral instantly because he realized he had been completely played. The second he pulled the Hurricanes jersey out of the shipping package, he was dumbfounded for a split second, then threw the jersey onto the floor and walked away from the camera.

Despite Dart dumping the gear on the carpet, Giants fans, sports radio hosts, and media analysts are absolutely eating up the interaction. One could even say it is a phenomenal sign of genuine locker-room chemistry. Only time will tell whether their bond will come to fruition by October.

However, former Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin believes Ole Miss would have gotten the last laugh if he had been the one calling the shots!

Lane Kiffin’s hypothetical

With Lane Kiffin leaving the Ole Miss Rebels football for the LSU Tigers football last November, college football fans are still talking about the controversial move. Kiffin left before Ole Miss made its run to the playoff semifinal, where the Rebels eventually lost to the Miami Hurricanes. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding stepped in as interim head coach during the playoff run.

Kiffin recently shared his thoughts on what could have happened if he had stayed with Ole Miss through the playoff. “[If] Pete Golding is in the press box calling the defense, that team is in the national championship,” Kiffin told USA Today. “I don’t know what happens against Indiana, because the quarterback (Fernando Mendoza) is so good. We might win it, but we’re definitely in it. We ain’t losing to Miami.”

Kiffin doubled down on his belief that Ole Miss would have reached the title game if the coaching staff had stayed together. “If anyone wants to argue that theory, that if everything is kept intact, we’re not in the national championship, what are you going to argue?” Kiffin continued. While fans will never know what really would have happened, it is clear Kiffin still believes that Ole Miss had a championship-level team last season.

Now, Kiffin’s focus is fully on LSU, where expectations are sky high after his arrival. One of the biggest games of the upcoming season is already circled on the calendar. On Sept. 19, Kiffin will return to Oxford for the first time since leaving, as LSU takes on Ole Miss in what is expected to be one of the most emotional matchups of the college football season.