EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsOXFORD, Miss. -- Not long after LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt's fourth-down pass bounced off the helmet of Ole Miss defender Kam Franklin and ended up in the hands of defensive back Jaylon Braxton in the end zone, Tigers coach Lane Kiffin fell to his knees.Before the No. 8 Rebels put the finishing touches on their 32-24 victory over the No. 7 Tigers on Saturday night, Ole Miss gave Kiffin one more parting gift as "Callin' Baton Rouge" blared through the speakers of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium while tens of thousands of fans exorcised 10 months of frustration in the final moments of their former coach's highly anticipated return.Surrounded by a handful of Louisiana state troopers, Kiffin embraced Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, his former defensive coordinator, at midfield.Fans serenaded Kiffin with boos as he jogged off the field where he'd help transform Ole Miss into one of the best teams in the SEC before leaving for LSU on Nov. 30, weeks before the Rebels' first College Football Playoff appearance.Afterwards, Kiffin was asked if he was happy the game was over and whether the outcome might bring some closure to the brewing animosity."I'm sure I'll be criticized for saying that, but, yeah, I am," Kiffin said. "I was thinking that all week, especially today, and I would have said that in a win or a loss. You know, that was really emotional driving in on the buses for a lot of reasons. And I'm not saying this because I would have said this anyway since you asked. It was just really a lot of emotions of gratefulness for this place and for the six years. It went well beyond football."When Kiffin was asked to expound on his feelings about coming back to a place where he has been Public Enemy No. 1 since he infamously left for another SEC program in the middle of a postseason run, he said it was "probably not what I would have thought.""There's a lot of stuff [in] six years here, and a lot of things and a lot of life-changing experiences and a lot of really good people that helped me through some really hard times," Kiffin said. "I just thought I would probably be more in, like, the competitive mode and just kind of embrace it. I don't know, sometimes you can't predict your emotions."I know that sometimes I don't act like it, but I'm a human too, you know."More than anything else, the Tigers left Oxford with a loss because Kiffin couldn't convince Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to join him at LSU-not that he didn't try.Chambliss, who transferred to Ole Miss last year after spending three seasons at Division II Ferris State, once again proved to be the best player on the field. He completed 33 of 48 passes for 363 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.After the Tigers stormed back from a 17-point deficit at the half and tied the score at 24-24 on Scott Starzyk's 23-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, Chambliss led the Rebels right back down the field.He capped off a 75-yard scoring drive with a 14-yard touchdown run with 6:14 to play. After the Tigers jumped offside twice, JT Lindsey ran into the end zone from one yard on a two-point play for a 32-24 lead."The game's at the end and Trinidad has the ball in his hand," Kiffin said. "The guy made a lot of plays during the game and did a great job. That's why he's the hardest player to play in America. He showed up great today and kind of like the Miami game [in the CFP]."The Tigers reached the Ole Miss 6 in the final two minutes. Leavitt couldn't hit tight end Zach Grace with a pass at the goal line on third down, setting up the dramatic finish for the Rebels defense."I'm proud of the way the guys battled back," Kiffin said. "It was really good. But at the end, we didn't finish. We could have finished on defense and stopped them. We let them go down and score. And then on offense, we moved down and then stalled there at the end."Leavitt completed 16 of 27 passes for 158 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also ran for 63 yards with one score.LSU's offense struggled in the first half and punted on each of its first three possessions. The Tigers trailed 17-0 before they finally got things going with a 17-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock.Dilin Jones scored on a two-yard run to cut Ole Miss' lead to 17-7. But then Chambliss stepped up again and threw a 20-yard touchdown to Deuce Alexander to make it 24-7 at the half.Kiffin attributed LSU's slow start to the environment, which he described as walking into a "storm.""You see it all the time on the bus," Kiffin said. "It's how you walk in. It's a buildup."The stadium was full an hour early. So, I guess I had to leave to get them to do that. So, you're welcome."
