Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry was joking about sending Lane Kiffin into Oxford on an F-16. But that joke came up in the first place because Saturday night isn’t shaping up to be a warm welcome. No. 7 LSU has opened the 2026 season in style, crushing Clemson 51-10 before rolling past Louisiana Tech 45-14. But the real test starts now, and it’s one where emotions run high.

LSU’s SEC opener comes at Ole Miss, where Lane Kiffin will make his first return to Oxford since leaving the Rebels for Baton Rouge. Jeff Landry, speaking with ESPN, understands what awaits.

“I’m thinking about having to send him in on an F-16 and maybe the team on a C-130,” he said. “Security is going to be really tight. You know, we might need the National Guard out there to protect our team. I think it’s going to be an interesting weekend.”

That exaggeration may be a joke, but the governor also revealed that his office has already been in contact with Mississippi officials about security for the LSU contingent.

“I know that we’ve been talking with Mississippi and making sure that we have adequate security for the team and coach,” he said. “But I’m hoping that we can go there and play in complete Southern hospitality and have a great, great game.”

Ole Miss fans might find every problem with that last part. They weren’t just mad that Lane Kiffin left. The timing made it worse. After an 11-1 season, he bolted for LSU two days after the finale, right before the playoffs. Six years of work, and then he was gone.

Lane Kiffin even pushed to remain involved with the Rebels during their very first playoff run after accepting the LSU job. But that did not smooth things over. DC Pete Golding stepped into the head-coaching role and kept Ole Miss moving. The Rebels won their first two CFP games before Miami ended their run with a 31-27 victory in the semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.

Then came another source of irritation. Lane Kiffin tried to recruit some of his former players to follow him to LSU, including Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy. Four Ole Miss players eventually made the move, with DE Princewill Umanmielen and LB TJ Dottery among them. Several assistants left with him, too, including OC Charlie Weis Jr. 

Now, of all people, it’s Lane Kiffin who knows the atmosphere will be different. During his weekly news conference on Monday, he said LSU has already discussed the attention surrounding his return and what his players might encounter.

“We talk about that,” he said. “I guess there’s real safety issues and stuff, so there’s people that have a plan for that. I told the players today, ‘Man, you don’t have anything to worry about as far as, like, attention on you all week and everything. There’s going to be so much attention, hatred, everything on me. You just get to go play.’”

Maybe that’s the smartest way for LSU to approach the whole thing. Let Lane Kiffin absorb the boos and let everyone else play football. Because when he walks into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Ole Miss fans will not be looking at just the coach who left. They will be looking at the coach who left, took players and staff with him, and now has to face the program he helped build.

And that is before you get to the football. This is the Magnolia Bowl, a rivalry that dates back more than 100 years, with the first meeting coming in 1894. This year, LSU is ranked No. 7, and Ole Miss is No. 8. It is the first time since 1962 that both programs have entered the game ranked inside the AP Top 10. That makes the Lane Kiffin storyline even more combustible.