Before people panic about the Ole Miss loss, look at the 2007 Saban parallel...

I know dropping that game to Ole Miss yesterday stings, but take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Kiffin’s start here at LSU is eerily similar to Nick Saban’s first year at Alabama.

Think about the 2007 season. Saban takes over at Bama, plays LSU in his first year, and what happened? He lost 41-34. Saban was going up against a roster loaded with veteran guys he originally recruited to Baton Rouge.

Sounds familiar? Kiffin just walked into Oxford yesterday and took a loss against a veteran, win-now roster that he spent the last few years building while competing with a team he’s still building.

Silver lining: just like Saban's old recruits eventually cycled out of LSU, Kiffin's old recruits and portal players are about to leave Oxford en masse. Ole Miss is going to have to replace basically their entire offensive production next year. For what it’s worth, Ole Miss returned 61% of its roster from a year ago; LSU returned less than half of its roster.

1) Trinidad Chambliss is finally out of eligibility (his clock has completely run out and he will not be granted a 37th year of eligibility by a backwoods Mississippi judge).

2) Kewan Lacy is most likely declaring for the draft because he’s the best running back in the country.

3) Their starting tight end is a senior who could return under the NCAA five-for-five rule or go pro.

4) That Ole Miss defense is heavily anchored by at least five seniors who could very well be gone after this season.

The cycle is resetting right in front of us. The old team gets one last ride to win the first game using the elite talent the coach left behind. But once those players leave in the offseason, the new coach just starts beating the dog out of his old team. Saban did it to us, and Kiffin is about to do it to Ole Miss. Geaux Tigers.