Lane Kiffin, LSU open 2026 SEC slate at Ole Miss

Lane Kiffin won't have to wait long for a return to Oxford, Miss.

The football coach who recently left his post at Ole Miss to take the top job at LSU will be back at his former home for the Tigers' opening Southeastern Conference game of 2026.

The contest is scheduled for Sept. 19, in Week 3 of the season.

Kiffin's Tigers will open with two games at home, against Clemson and Louisiana Tech, before they square off with the Rebels.

Kiffin will have another reunion on Nov. 21 when LSU visits Tennessee, the program he coached in 2009 before he exited to take over at Southern California. The Tigers will play host to Alabama and Texas in the two weeks prior to facing the Volunteers.

Ole Miss, under new coach Pete Golding, will begin with a neutral-site game against Louisville at Nashville on Labor Day weekend. The Rebels will then host Charlotte before Kiffin and LSU come to town.

Ole Miss will visit Texas on Oct. 24 and Oklahoma on Nov. 14 surrounding home games against Auburn and Georgia.

The 2026 season will see the SEC move from eight conference games to nine.

In a rematch of the conference title game won last week by Georgia, the Bulldogs will play at Alabama on Oct. 10.

Texas will pay its first-ever visit to Knoxville to play Tennessee on Sept. 26.

Notable nonconference games include Ohio State at Texas as well as Oklahoma at Michigan, both on Sept. 12.

--Field Level Media