Ole Miss Coach Pete Golding Uses ‘Homecoming Dance’ Warning Ahead Of Lane Kiffin’s Return

Ole Miss coach Pete Golding knows there will be plenty of emotion surrounding Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford this weekend.

Kiffin will be back at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on the opposing sideline after leaving Ole Miss for LSU, adding another layer to an already massive top-10 SEC matchup.

Golding acknowledged Monday that Kiffin's history with the Ole Miss roster makes this week different, but said his players can't allow the surrounding storylines to become a distraction.

"You know, now with the portal and coaches going different places every year, there's always relationships that are there," Golding said. "Obviously this one being unique, their head ball coach that recruited a lot of these guys and all that is on the opposing side."

Golding said the Rebels understand what is at stake regardless of who is coaching on the other sideline.

"They know it's a top-10 matchup, and regardless who we play, you're playing a top-10 team in this league," Golding said. "If you don't prepare really well and practice really well and play your best game, you're probably not going to win the game, regardless who it is."

Golding also praised LSU's roster, pointing to the Tigers' quarterback, skill players and defense before delivering a colorful warning to his team about getting caught up in everything surrounding Kiffin's return.

"A lot going on. You got LSU, you got GameDay, you got so much other stuff," Golding said. "But to me, it's like high school homecoming for these dudes. If you focus on the wrong shite, that homecoming dance ain't very fun after you get your butt beat on a Friday night."

"So we got to make sure we're doing everything right throughout the week to get the outcome that we want."

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