Over the weekend, I asked myself why I was so drawn to the Coach Lane Kiffin story, especially since I have no strong opinions or feelings about Kiffin, Ole Miss or LSU. I realized that the LSU-Ole Miss rivalry has been part of my memory bank since I was 9 years old.
Ole Miss and LSU were dominant teams. From January ’53 to January ’65, LSU and/or Ole Miss were in nine of thirteen Sugar Bowls. In 1959, LSU was the only team to beat Ole Miss, 7-3, thanks to The Punt Return by Billy Cannon, who won LSU’s only Heisman Trophy. Ole Miss defeated LSU 21-0 in a Sugar Bowl re-match and were considered by many to be the national champions.
For most Americans, the weekend Kiffin saga was lost amid other events. For ardent football fans, it was about the new bidding war for coaches and players brought on by “the portal,” confirming major college football as a professional sport. Because of my age and geography, I knew the historic LSU/Ole Miss rivalry would make Kifflin’s situation a train wreck in the making.
For the 50th anniversary of The Punt Return, Wright Thompson wrote a definitive article about Cannon (1937-2018) in the October 20, 2009 edition of ESPN’s Outside the Lines (OTL), “The Redemption of Billy Cannon.”
From “The Lane Kiffin saga: Who exactly is to blame for the sordid mess at Ole Miss and LSU?“, by Dana ONeil, CNN, December 2, 2025.
ted.today 