OXFORD — A sea of red and blue tents filled the Grove at the University of Mississippi as tens of thousands of people converged on campus Saturday for the long-anticipated Top 10 game between LSU and Ole Miss. The longstanding rivalry became a grudge match after Lane Kiffin ditched his job as the Ole Miss head coach before the end of the 2025 season for a bigger paycheck in Baton Rouge. Ole Miss fans toted hand-lettered signs that mocked Kiffin, calling him a traitor and worse. ESPN broadcast its “College GameDay” from the Grove, and Ole Miss student James Whitehead won $1 million by kicking a field goal on air. Ole Miss student James Whitehead participates in Pat McAfee’s field goal challenge during “College GameDay” at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. The freshmen won $1 million after a successful 33-yard field goal. Credit: Richard Lake/Mississippi Today Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman — a Mississippi native and resident, and frequent front-row fan at Ole Miss basketball games — served as the celebrity guest picker for the weekend’s college football games, wearing an Ole Miss baseball hat and choosing the Rebels to win. “If I go for what’s his name,” Freeman said, as the ESPN hosts said Lane Kiffin, “I will not be able to go home tonight.” READ MORE: Shakespeare could have written this LSU-Ole Miss football plot The vibe varied widely on campus. Some families and friends who have opposing allegiances shared food and drinks at tailgate parties. “I’m not going to show up and not wear purple and gold,” Brock McGoogan said, sporting the Tigers’ colors as he stood with his girlfriend, Summer Huerkamp, who is an Ole Miss fan An Ole Miss fan holds a homemade sign above his head during ESPN’s “College GameDay” at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today In other areas, Ole Miss and LSU fans shouted at each other — some of them, after getting their fill of chicken fingers, potato salad and beer or bourbon. As kickoff drew closer and the Mississippi heat beat down even harder, the crowd was elbow-to-elbow and many partiers grew rowdier. Ole Miss fans erupted in cheers as their team walked through the Grove on the way to Vaught Hemingway stadium. The Rebels were led by two star players who declined to transfer to LSU with Kiffin and are now being being promoted by Ole Miss as Heisman candidates — quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy. An homemade sign referring to Lane Kiffin’s dog, Juice, is held above the crowd at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Ole Miss fans crowd the Grove at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today The front page of the student newspaper, The Daily Mississippian, depicts LSU head coach Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, at the university in Oxford. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today The Williams and Seal families tailgate together at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2026. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Ole Miss graduate Justin Sabb, left, and LSU senior petroleum engineer Carson Gillespe talk with reporters in the Grove at The University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2026. Sabb and Gilespe grew up together in Georgia. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today LSU and Ole Miss fans taunt each other before a football game at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Football fans crowd the Grove at the University of Mississippi before the LSU-Ole Miss game on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Ole Miss fans display a sign of previous head coach Lane Kiffin on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. From left, Ken Ford, Chris Kirk, Bo Jarrell and Timothy Ford. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, in dark jacket, walks through the Grove at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, before the LSU-Ole Miss game. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss walks through the Grove at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2026, before the LSU-Ole Miss game. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss walks through the Grove at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2026, before the LSU-Ole Miss game. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour takes a phone call at the University of Mississippi on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, before the LSU-Ole Miss football game. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today Fans fill the Grove at the University of Mississippi in anticipation for the LSU-Ole Miss football game on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. Credit: Aaron Lampley/Mississippi Today ...read more read less