Skip Bayless Identifies College Football Coach Who Has Transformed the Sport

Former ESPN First Take co-host Skip Bayless put LSU head coach Lane Kiffin above every other coach in college football history on the same night No. 8 Ole Miss beat Kiffin's new team 32-24 in Oxford.

The veteran sports debate host posted the message on X on Saturday night just as the matchup was starting. "Among coaches, Lane Kiffin is the best thing that has ever happened to college football. Great coach. Ultimate villain. Ratings lightning rod," Bayless wrote.

Why did Skip Bayless praise Kiffin?

Skip Bayless Identifies College Football Coach Who Has Transformed the Sport — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Bayless gave three reasons in one short post. The villain label comes from the way Kiffin left Ole Miss. He took the LSU job on Nov. 30, 2025, just two days after the Rebels beat Mississippi State 39-19 in the Egg Bowl.

Kiffin said Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter denied his request to coach the team through the College Football Playoff. So Kiffin left before the Rebels' playoff run, and Ole Miss fans jeered him as he boarded a plane for Baton Rouge.

The ratings label showed up in the buildup to Saturday's game. No. 7 LSU at No. 8 Ole Miss was the first top-10 meeting between the two programs since 1962. ESPN's College GameDay came to Oxford, and ABC aired the game in prime time at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Ole Miss beats LSU 32-24

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, the Division II transfer Kiffin brought to Oxford, beat his former coach. He threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns. Then he ran 14 yards for the go-ahead score with 6:14 left, and a 2-point try put the Rebels up by eight.

LSU trailed 24-7 at halftime but tied the game 24-24 in the fourth quarter. After the Chambliss score, Tigers quarterback Sam Leavitt drove LSU to the Ole Miss 6-yard line. But he missed open tight end Zach Grace near the goal line on third down, and Jaylon Braxton picked off a tipped pass in the end zone on fourth down.

Bayless posted about the game several times. He wrote that Chambliss "plays BIG" and that Leavitt "was seeing ghosts all night." In another post, Bayless wrote, "Sweetest revenge in college football history."

Lane Kiffin's record at Ole Miss

The "Great coach" part of Bayless' post comes from Kiffin's six years in Oxford. He went 55-19 with the Rebels and won 10 or more games four times. Before Kiffin arrived in 2020, Ole Miss had only two 10-win seasons since 1972.

His 2025 Ole Miss team went 11-1 in the regular season, the first 11-win regular season in school history. The only loss came against Georgia.

Kiffin kept his comments short after Saturday's loss. "I'm glad it's over. This was an emotional game for a lot of reasons," the first-year LSU coach said.

The win moved Ole Miss to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in SEC play.

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