ESPN College Gameday Live: Highlights and Updates from Ole Miss

ESPN College Gameday Live: Highlights and Updates from Ole Miss originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The ESPN Gameday crew is on location from the Grove at the University of Mississippi. Lane Kiffin returns to Ole Miss to take on his former team. Despite a desire to coach the Rebels in the 2025 College Football Playoff, Kiffin was informed Ole Miss would not allow that if he was to take the LSU job.

LSU at Ole Miss is the game of the day, but there are 21 ranked teams on the Saturday slate of games. The battle of Kiffin teams is the only game that puts two top 10 teams against each other, but newly No. 1 Texas, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Indiana and most of the AP Top 25 are in action today.

Follow along as we update the events from Oxford ahead of the Saturday games.

ESPN College Gameday: Live from Oxford Mississippi

The Grove still looks like a garden party. But there’s no warm welcome waiting for Lane Kiffin.
Wright Thompson explores the emotional wake left in Oxford as its former head coach returns wearing purple and gold. pic.twitter.com/kWdutgiKyr

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Morgan Freeman joins the crew to make their Saturday Selections

North Carolina vs Clemson

Howard: UNC
Saban: Clemson
McAfee: UNC
Freeman: UNC
Herbstreit: UNC

No. 16 SMU vs No. 23 Louisville

Howard: Louisville
Saban: Louisville
McAfee: SMU
Freeman: Louisville
Herbstreit: Louisville

North Carolina State vs Vanderbilt

Howard: Vanderbilt
Saban: Vanderbilt
McAfee: Vanderbilt
Freeman: Vanderbilt
Herbstreit: Vanderbilt

Kentucky vs No. 9 Texas A&M

Howard: Texas A&M
Saban: Texas A&M
McAfee: Texas A&M
Freeman: Texas A&M
Herbstreit: Texas A&M

Mississippi State vs South Carolina

Howard: Mississippi State
Saban: Mississippi State
McAfee: South Carolina
Freeman: Mississippi State
Herbstreit: South Carolina

West Virginia vs No. 25 Virginia

Howard: Virginia
Saban: Virginia
McAfee: West Virginia
Freeman: Virginia
Herbstreit: Virginia

Virginia Tech vs Maryland

Howard: Maryland
Saban: Maryland
McAfee: Virginia Tech
Freeman: Virginia Tech
Herbstreit: Virginia Tech

Florida State vs No. 10 Alabama

Howard: Alabama
Saban: Alabama
McAfee: Alabama
Freeman: Alabama
Herbstreit: Alabama

Florida vs Auburn

Howard: Auburn
Saban: Florida
McAfee: Florida
Freeman: Florida
Herbstreit: Florida

No. 7 LSU vs No. 8 Ole Miss

Howard: Ole Miss
Saban: LSU
Freeman: Ole Miss
McAfee: Ole Miss

.@PatMcAfeeShow picks Ole Miss to take down LSU and gets the crowd rocking‼️
(He's still taking the Tigers to win the national championship though) pic.twitter.com/FESqypO9QJ

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Morgan Freeman: If I pick that other guy (Lane Kiffin and LSU), I will not be able to go home tonight.

Morgan Freeman couldn't believe Coach Saban wasn't rocking with his Rebels 😂
The voice of God is taking Ole Miss over LSU 🔥 pic.twitter.com/enmt67QTIg

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

What does the state of Mississippi mean to Morgan Freeman? "Home".

Nick Saban and Kirk Herbstreit discuss the art of the RPO

Coach Saban and @KirkHerbstreit break down the art of the RPO 🎨 pic.twitter.com/3gk9NwfYNr

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Saturday SuperDogs:

Stanford Steve: Georgia State over UCF
Nick Saban: Michigan State over Notre Dame
Desmond Howard: Norther Iowa over Iowa
Kirk Herbstreit: San Jose State over Fresno State
Pat McAfee: West Virginia over Virginia
Rece Davis: Colorado State over BYU

During a segment teasing the upcoming games, McAfee asked if Saban had any tricks or medicine to calm the boys. Dropping a reference to online chatter about his most recent Pat McAfee show. Where he suggested there's nothing wrong with burning some sage after fans identified what looked like smoking during his show.

"I think, if we had some of your gummies, we'd won more games."
Coach Saban dropping one-liners left and right 🤣 pic.twitter.com/BsWC9D5whx

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

The crew discussed the upcoming North Carolina vs Clemson matchup. Nick Saban wasted no time painting the picture of Clemson in a dyer situation. "They've been able to establish no identity on offense. They struggle to run the ball. They have too many negative plays, whether its sacks, penalties, putting themselves behind the eight-ball on offense."

ESPN aired a video package remembering the time Nick Saban returned to LSU for the first time since leaving to take the Alabama job in November of 2008. The video is part of the Nick Saban docuseries to release later this year. Despite the atmosphere that expected a hostile environment, Saban made sure to mention who won. Mentioned it twice, in a mic drop moment only Saban can deliver.

On the heels of Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford, we look back at another emotional coaching return in 2008 ...
Nick Saban's return to LSU, but this time, as head coach of Alabama 🐘 pic.twitter.com/TnBTy9ywpL

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

James Whitehead prepares to prove Kicking is Easy. McAfee to Whitehead: "That mustache was born for days like today". Whitehead's kick will be worth $1M. Mr. Whitehead has never kicked a football. He does have some soccer experience. Kicking barefoot, which he did, is something he has done before. McAfee claims there will be no second chance if he misses.

Mr. Whitehead did not even wait for McAfee to finish his intro setup before drilling the ball right down Main Street and clearing the height of the uprights. During Whitehead's celebratory scamper around the kicking set McAfee could be heard saying, "That's the best kick yet! What. Just. Happened!?"

HOTTY TODDY ON THE MONEY 💰 pic.twitter.com/XuKhPvrlSy

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Today's LSU vs Ole Miss game is the most expensive game on record for Ole Miss. The average ticket price is over $600. With ticket prices on resale markets north of $6,000. Compared to seven years ago, when the cheapest ticket for this matchup was $28. The cheapest ticket today is $370.

A message from today's guest picker. Mr. Morgan Freeman:

"I'm ... you know."
Morgan Freeman. That's who. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/DcncT3bxcC

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

The day's kicker has been identified and his footwear might be questionable for the task ahead of him.

We have our kicker 👀 @PatMcAfeeShowpic.twitter.com/hlhy1Owkzt

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

The Aflac Trivia Question: Which FBS program owns the longest active streak of winning seasons at home? Answer: Ohio State.

Jen Lada is on location at Boise State. ESPN included a short history on the Broncos' 'blue turf'.

.@JenLada takes a look at how one decision that changed the identity of Boise State's football program 🔥 pic.twitter.com/UpFyUVQZUZ

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

"I'm not sure there's a hot yoga studio in the world that can turn up the temperature like we're gonna have tonight for LSU and Ole Miss." -Rece Davis.

At least the situationship is a green flag 💚 pic.twitter.com/NsFKMQpAzT

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Oxford gives Lane Kiffin the expected welcome when he appeared on screen. There was not a single moment that Kiffin spoke where there wasn't also an Oxford soundtrack he had to speak over. Kiffin thanked Gameday for assisting the crowd, "Thanks guys, I really appreciate you gaslighting them this morning."

The Ole Miss crowd's reaction to Lane Kiffin's appearance on College GameDay: pic.twitter.com/OVTxQTvfKK

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Stanford Steve's Picks:

Kentucky over No. 9 Texas A&M
Florida over Auburn
Northwestern over Colorado

Stanford Steve is riding with Kentucky. He’s taking the Cats and the 16.5 points on College Gameday.

— KSR (@KSRonX) September 19, 2026

Top 10 teams in action at home today (times in eastern time):

Kent State @ No. 6 Ohio State (noon)
Kentucky @ No. 9 Texas A&M (3:30pm)
Western Kentucky @ No. 4 Indiana (4:00pm)
Michigan State @ No. 3 Notre Dame (7:30pm)
No. 7 LSU @ No. 8 Ole Miss (7:30pm)
UTSA @ No. 1 Texas (8:00pm)
Florida State @ No. 10 Alabama (3:30pm)

Andrew from the Grove (a proud Ole Miss alum) made a nice 'display'. Jess Sims of ESPN, "I thought we were being nice...?"

.@jess_sims: "I thought we were being nice!"
Andrew from The Grove: "Well ... Hotty Toddy."
Knew this was bound to happen at some point 😭 pic.twitter.com/EhiSbMSUcd

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Pete Golding certainly knows the words to the "Flim Flam thing"

"Forget the field, do you know the words to the 'Flim Flam' thing?" 🤣
Pete Golding and @PatMcAfeeShow got it down, and the crowd is lovin' it 🔥 pic.twitter.com/06RYqCJlh6

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding joins the Gameday crew. "This is a unique week based on the crossover between staffs and the signal standpoint," Golding said. "You don't always change every signal... going into this season, we did..."

"You don't always change every signal. Going into this season, we did."
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding on how the Rebels' coaching staff is gearing up for the LSU matchup 😅 pic.twitter.com/tVKZvH1Dnz

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Advice for MSU vs Notre Dame Today? Saban spoke as the former Spartans coach (including shots of a young Nick Saban). McAfee pointing at an image of young Saban, "has this guy ever lost to Notre Dame?" Saban nonchalantly claimed, "No".

"Was this a color photo when they took it or was this black and white?"@PatMcAfeeShow had jokes for Coach Saban 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZKcmV8Dkjw

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

The Ultimate Manning. McAfee used a pointer to identify which physical or mental aspects from Archie, Peyton, Eli and Arch to build the ideal or "ultimate" Manning.

Learn more about Ohio State or Texas? "Texas, a resilient team. Backs against the wall, they will fight. I likened that victory to a galvanizing victory." -Desmond Howard.

Coach Saban: "I wanted to know whose ass could I chew out at halftime. ... You gotta go keep playing for 60 minutes in a game." @KirkHerbstreit and the broadcast were always ready for a big Saban lead 😂 pic.twitter.com/WnSrmVwz0m

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Friday Night Takeaways - No. 5 Miami defeated Wake Forest 33-20. No. 22 Houston falls one 2pt conversion away from tying No. 13 Texas Tech. No. 21 Oregon put up a record 84 points on Portland State.

After introducing the Gameday crew, McAfee segued to Nick Saban who attempted to suggest he did not encourage Kiffin to leave. His voice got louder to match the volume of the crowd chanting over him. "I don't tell anyone to go anywhere and just so everyone know here I AM USED TO GETTIN BOOED IN THE SEC".

"Just so everybody knows here, I am used to getting booed in the SEC!"
Coach Saban 😭 pic.twitter.com/1fyftkoxvU

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Pat McAfee began to recap the events that made this game must watch television. Only a minute or so into that explanation, the fans in attendance began an (expletive) Lane Kiffin chant, sharing their feelings on Kiffin's departure.

The helicopter flying overhead, Rece Davis, assures the viewers are strictly for the pageantry of the game. Not a precaution for the fireworks to come later when LSU takes on Ole Miss.

Absolute scenes from Ole Miss 🔥 pic.twitter.com/I8r6H24nS1

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

Pat McAfee began to recap the events that made this game must watch television. Only a minute or so into that explanation, the fans in attendance began an (expletive) Lane Kiffin chant, sharing their feelings on Kiffin's departure.

The "F*ck Lane Kiffin" chants get started early on 'College GameDay' in Oxford ahead of LSU-Ole Miss. pic.twitter.com/6BlNn0qVwA

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 19, 2026

Good morning from Oxford

GOOD MORNING FROM OXFORD 🤩 pic.twitter.com/qpm2V7wsan

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) September 19, 2026

MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS:

• Deion Sanders buyout, contract details as Colorado Buffaloes coach
• Nike adds eight College Football stars to NIL roster before 2026 season
• ESPN analyst says 'pump the brakes' on Texas' Arch Manning being the best QB
• Dabo Swinney says Clemson is a 'bunch of nobodies' ahead of 2026 season
• Shedeur Sanders is all over social media after Colorado GPA surfaces