One of the biggest storylines of the college football world since late last year has been Lane Kiffin being hired at LSU. The Tigers fired Brian Kelly partway through the season and had their eyes on Kiffin, who had turned Ole Miss into a College Football Playoff team. Kiffin bolted for LSU, leaving the Rebels for an arch-rival right before the CFP began.
Ole Miss fans did not take kindly to Kiffin's departure, and the college football world has had its eyes on this weekend's Magnolia Bowl matchup. No. 7 LSU visits No. 8 Ole Miss in what very well could be the game of the week starting at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 19.
Ole Miss in Week 3 at DraftKings and get $200 in bonus bets when you spend $5+: Ahead of what should be an incredible atmosphere in Oxford, Miss. this weekend, we'll look at the latest LSU vs. Ole Miss odds at DraftKings Sportsbook before breaking down this SEC matchup. We'll also share our best bets using the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every FBS game 10,000 times.
It is on a 33-21 run on top-rated CFB money-line picks on betting sites since the 2024 season, and it has been upgraded for the 2026 season to better factor in the transfer portal. Anybody following its picks on college football betting sites could have seen strong returns. Kiffin has the Tigers off to a dominant 2-0 start that includes a blowout win over Clemson, while Ole Miss took down a ranked Louisville squad in Week 1 before defeating Charlotte in Week 2.
There's a lot of familiarity in this matchup as Kiffin's former defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, is the new Ole Miss head coach, and fewer players left Ole Miss to follow Kiffin to LSU than expected. The returnees include star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who's a Heisman Trophy contender. Chambliss is off to a great start to the year and is +1300 to win the Heisman, per DraftKings futures betting odds.
Kiffin hit the portal hard this offseason, including adding quarterback Sam Leavitt from Arizona State. Leavitt helped guide the Sun Devils to the CFP in 2024 in a surprise Big 12 championship campaign. Leavitt has gotten off to a rocky start with two passing touchdowns to four interceptions through two games, though he's rushed for five scores.
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