For the past month and a half, LSU has commanded the college football spotlight. This week, that attention reaches another level.
No. 6 LSU's trip to face No. 7 Ole Miss on Saturday will feature two top-10 teams in the rivalry for the first time since 1962, with Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford adding even more intrigue to a matchup already carrying major Southeastern Conference implications.
LSU Athletic Director Verge Ausberry, speaking Tuesday at the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club at The Cannery in New Orleans, believes the stage represents exactly where LSU football should be.
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“This is the first time, you know, since 1962 that LSU and Ole Miss has ranked in the top 10 playing each other,” Ausberry said. “What a great week. What a great week we have gained in.”
ESPN's College Gameday will also be in Oxford, while the Tigers and Rebels will meet in primetime Saturday night.
For Ausberry, the attention surrounding LSU isn't something to shy away from. It's part of the expectation.
“The bull's-eye is always on LSU,” Ausberry said. “I told them that when we hired them. People want to beat you. People want to be where you are. It's LSU. We're one of the great programs in the country.”
LSU embracing national spotlight
Few programs have generated more attention over the past month than LSU, particularly after the Tigers hired Kiffin away from Ole Miss.
Now, Kiffin's return to Oxford has added another layer to a matchup that already carries significant SEC and national implications.
Ausberry believes the attention has been invaluable for LSU.
“You know, that's what I tell people: we couldn't buy it,” Ausberry said. “For the last month and a half, it's been LSU, LSU, LSU. And that's where we want to be. That's where we want our brand to be.”
Saturday provides another opportunity to showcase that brand.
“Just think about LSU and Ole Miss prime time, Saturday night, and the whole world watching,” Ausberry said. “Gameday starts at 11 a.m. What's the best place to be?”
Ausberry acknowledged the heightened attention surrounding Kiffin's return will require extensive security planning, but he wants the focus to remain on football.
Pressure comes with coaching at LSU
The attention also brings expectations, something Ausberry made clear to Kiffin and LSU's other coaches when they were hired.
“At LSU, that's the challenge we want,” Ausberry said. “That's the challenge that we expect. You know, the coaches I hired — why did I hire those coaches? Because you expect that.”
Kiffin has quickly settled into that environment.
Ausberry said the relationship between the two has continued to develop since he recruited Kiffin to become LSU's head coach.
“You know, he and I have a great relationship,” Ausberry said. “And since the time I recruited him to come here to be our head coach, we've built our relationship.”
Kiffin's primary responsibility remains straightforward.
“He's here to coach football and win football games,” Ausberry said. “I help manage it. Whatever he needs me to do to help him be successful, that's what I'm there for.”
But Ausberry has also been impressed with Kiffin's willingness to become part of LSU's broader athletic department.
“Lane is such a great ambassador for the whole department,” Ausberry said. “He likes to go to all our athletic events we have. He talks to all the coaches about the decisions he's trying to make.”
That has included conversations with women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey, whom Ausberry said recently spoke with Kiffin about something he planned to do on College Gameday.
“He's very easy to work with and pushing us to where we need to be,” Ausberry said.
LSU-Ole Miss rivalry returns to national stage
Beyond Kiffin's return, Saturday provides an opportunity to restore some of the significance to a rivalry that peaked generations ago.
Ausberry hopes the matchup can give younger LSU fans a glimpse of what LSU-Ole Miss once represented in the late 1950s and 1960s.
“You know, we never had a really natural rival like the Alabama-Auburn or Georgia-Georgia Tech,” Ausberry said. “So getting this back into the SEC and back into what LSU and Ole Miss used to be is very important.”
Despite the emotions surrounding Kiffin's return and the tension between the fan bases, Ausberry wants the spectacle decided where it should be — on the field.
“The game has to be played on the field,” Ausberry said. “I tell fans, enjoy the game. You don't need to be there talking, annoying each other. Enjoy the game and have fun. That's what it's about.”
For LSU, the attention, pressure and expectations surrounding Saturday aren't distractions. They're part of what comes with being LSU.
“People want to beat you,” Ausberry said. “People want to be where you are. It's LSU.”
