LSU coach stages mock crowd to prepare players for Ole Miss game
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin organized a practice session where students simulated a hostile environment to ready the team for Saturday's matchup against Ole Miss, prompting heightened security measures.
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin arranged for a group of students to attend a recent practice and verbally challenge his players, aiming to mimic the atmosphere the team may face at Ole Miss's Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The students booed, shouted insults and displayed signs, including one aimed at edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen referencing an ongoing legal dispute with Ole Miss over a revenue-sharing agreement.
The exercise comes ahead of the Saturday night game in Oxford, where LSU, ranked No. 7, will meet No. 8 Ole Miss. Kiffin, who left Ole Miss for LSU in 2025 after a 55-19 record and a College Football Playoff appearance, will return to the venue for the first time since his departure.
University officials have increased security for the contest, deploying 65 to 70 Mississippi state troopers, a helicopter, a mobile command center and additional law-enforcement personnel from Mississippi and Louisiana.
"There’s actual due diligence being done on people saying terrible things to these guys before they’re walking into the stadium," said a commentator on a sports radio show referencing the practice setup.