In Lane Kiffin's perfect world, Ole Miss will never play its home football games anywhere but Oxford. The sixth-year head coach made that clear during his recent criticism of Auburn for moving its 2026 home game against Baylor to Atlanta for a greater NIL payout.
Auburn and Baylor agreed to a home-and-home series for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. The first game took place in Waco, with the Tigers slated to host the second leg to kick off the 2026 season. They recently announced that the game will instead commence in Atlanta to maximize NIL revenue for their players.
Kiffin, along with several other coaches and fans, disliked the move. Kiffin accused Auburn of chasing an unnecessary payout at the expense of its loyal fan base.
“I like our home games for our fans,” Kiffin said, via On3 Sports. “They get to come, and it does a lot for our community and our town with all the people that come in town for our home games. I don't want to take that away from our fans and community. NIL dollars isn't the answer to everything. They've got a lot of them over there. So I prefer, in that situation, to keep supporting our community and our town and our university that's been so great to us.”
The move was framed to be beneficial for Auburn's players, but Kiffin seems to believe that it is a money-grabbing decision from the school. The Tigers took the 2025 matchup on the road, winning 38-24, securing their ninth consecutive season opener.
Lane Kiffin not overlooking Ole Miss' Washington State matchup
The comments came shortly after Kiffin criticized teams in the former Pac-12 for leaving the conference ahead of Ole Miss' matchup with Washington State. Although Kiffin is rooted in the SEC, he has a history with the Pac-12, coaching USC from 2010 until his termination in 2013.
The Pac-12 will reassemble in 2026, but it will not have the same prestige it once did. Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State and Colorado State will join the new-look league, with Gonzaga also fusing in for all non-football sports.
For now, Washington State and Oregon State are the only two remaining members. That has made for a tough scheduling process for both teams, thus forcing Ole Miss to travel across the country for a Week 7 clash with the Cougars.
Washington State is just 3-2 entering the game, including a pair of blowout losses against North Texas and Washington. Kiffin is still not overlooking the matchup, particularly with several highly ranked teams recently suffering surprise upsets.
