In just a little over a week, college football will return to campuses and TV screens across the country.
In a sport littered with traditions, perhaps one of the most beloved is the ESPN original program College Gameday, which will return for its 40th season this fall.
While many fans have been speculating where the first few weeks of the season will take the Gameday crew, the network just confirmed the program will make its way to Oxford for what is sure to be the most anticipated matchup of the season.
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For the uninitiated, Ole Miss and LSU have a longstanding rivalry that dates back to 1894, and the annual meeting even has its own name, “The Magnolia Bowl.”
However, this year’s version of the Magnolia Bowl has a little added spice to it, as former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin makes his return to Vaught Hemingway Stadium for the first time since spurning Ole Miss for neighboring LSU.
Anyone who followed the Kiffin Saga last fall knows how messy that divorce got towards the end, and Kiffin even did his part in stoking the flames well after changing addresses in late November of last year.
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From the awkward Oxford Airport incidents to his Vanity Fair comments, Kiffin has become public enemy number one in Mississippi, and his week three showdown against the team he helped build into a College Football Playoff contender will be must-see television.
For those who are opting to go to the game, the tickets will cost you a pretty penny, as available seats on the low end are starting in the $600 range on most national ticket sale sites.
With all the pomp and circumstance attached to this already bitter rivalry, it’s no shock College GameDay decided to be on hand for the matchup, so its confirming it was little more than a formality.
Current Ole Miss coach Pete Golding has assured everyone throughout the offseason that there is no bad blood between he and his former boss, but his words will absolutely fall on deaf ears to any Rebels supporter leading up to the Sept. 19 showdown.
LSU sits at 11th in the preseason AP Poll while Ole Miss is ranked ninth, meaning this game has more than just regional bragging rights on the line.
Despite the reported $40 million roster for LSU, the hometown Rebels are currently 2.5-point favorites as it stands.
Regardless, this one should be an absolute treat for any college football fan, and the eyes of an entire country will surely be fixed on Oxford, Mississippi, just four weeks from tomorrow.
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