Alabama fans booed Lane Kiffin on College GameDay for cheering on LSU

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Lane Kiffin during his time as a college football coach, it’s that he can be extremely petty, a bit of a troll, and honest.

Kiffin might have been channeling parts of all three of those personality traits on Saturday when he made a brief phone-in appearance on ESPN’s College GameDay before his No. 11 Ole Miss team played against Texas A&M – and before Alabama hosts LSU, where GameDay had set up shop in Tuscaloosa.

Before Kiffin hung up with Rece Davis and the crew, he had a short message related to the primetime game of the night:

“Have fun in Tuscaloosa. They tell me I’m supposed to root for LSU today so, Geaux Tigers.”

The crowd in Tuscaloosa was, obviously, not pleased.

"Geaux Tigers"

Lane Kiffin with a little message for the Bama fans at #CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/Ff7x8sz40D

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 4, 2023

Now, this could be easily perceived as Kiffin trolling the Alabama fan base or giving a petty jab to his old boss Nick Saban, but there is a legitimate reason as to why Kiffin would want to see the Tigers triumph over the Tide. Should Ole Miss win Saturday and Alabama lose, they’ll both be tied for first in the SEC West, along with LSU. Alabama would still have the tiebreaker over Ole Miss should they finish the season with identical records, but it opens the door to Ole Miss going to Atlanta on Dec. 2 should the Tide suffer a third loss.