Sports

SEC spring meetings force Lane Kiffin to confront past with Ole Miss, future with LSU

Published

2 months ago

May 27, 2026

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Six months after the highest-profile breakup in college football, Lane Kiffin says two things can still be true.

“You can have had a wonderful experience and everything you said about those six years where you needed Oxford and Ole Miss more than they needed you. And that can totally be true,” Kiffin said Tuesday at the conclusion of the first day of SEC meetings, “and then you can choose a new challenge and go to another place. And so both those things are true.”

After a lengthy, days-long discussion of whether he’d be allowed to stay on and coach his Ole Miss team, Kiffin left the Rebels for LSU and was not allowed to continue coaching. Defensive coordinator Pete Golding was promoted to head coach and led Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff semifinals, beating Tulane and Georgia before losing to Miami, which scored a game-winning touchdown in the final minute.

As for Kiffin’s relationship with Ole Miss now, he elected to remain tight-lipped.

“I know you wanted that line,” he said, declining to answer the question. “I had a really good one, too.”

Kiffin sparked anger from Rebels fans after telling Vanity Fair the university’s history around race relations had been an obstacle in recruiting.

Kiffin said top recruits would say, “Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren’t letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.

“That doesn’t come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Kiffin said. “Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus’ diversity feels so great: ‘It feels like there’s no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that’s the real world.’”

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey declined to say whether any coaches in the league might be sanctioned for recent comments criticizing Ole Miss but that he spoke with coaches about “expectations and care” in relating to one another during meetings Tuesday.

“Those people in leadership positions need to function like leaders in their conduct and commentary,” he said.

When asked whether Kiffin, in particular, will be fined for his remarks on Ole Miss, Sankey replied, “You’ll find out when everyone else finds out. I don’t make those announcements at podiums.”

Kiffin was asked why he chose LSU over Florida and said his choice involved “lots of conversations,” but the decision was more about LSU’s positives than Florida’s negatives.

“You’re not gonna please everybody in decisions, and that’s impossible, as it obviously has played out,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we went through all kinds of different things, a number of different options, and we made this decision for the next chapter.”

Sports

'There's no hiding'- IBF champ McKenna puts middleweight division on notice

Published

2 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

'There's no hiding'- IBF champ McKenna puts middleweight division on notice

Sports

Carabao Cup: Burnley edge win on penalties, West Ham, Norwich & Watford through | Football News

Published

8 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

Kyle Walker struck the winning penalty as Burnley edged out Notts County 4-3 in a shoot-out to reach the Carabao Cup second round after a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor.

Newly-promoted County, League Two play-off final winners over Salford in May, led through Callum Roberts at half-time before Zian Flemming equalised early in the second period for the Clarets.

Walker struck the winning penalty after Burnley goalkeeper Max Weiss had saved efforts from Notts pair Emile Acquah and Jacob Bedeau in the shoot-out.

West Ham came from behind to beat Portsmouth 3-1 at the London Stadium in their first match following relegation from the Premier League.

The Hammers fell behind to Adrian Segecic’s first-half opener, but turned it round before the break with Taty Castellanos and Jarrod Bowen on target, before the former notched his second in the second half.

Substitute Jamal Lowe struck the only goal as Sheffield Wednesday beat 10-man Bolton 1-0 at Hillsborough.

Lowe scored midway through the second half after Bolton’s Xavier Simons was sent off for punching Owls’ on-loan Leeds striker Harry Gray in retaliation having been pulled back.

Millwall goalkeeper Lukas Jensen saved all four of QPR’s penalties as the Lions won 2-0 in a shoot-out at Loftus Road after the game ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.

Luke Cundle had given Millwall a second-half lead after a goalkeeper error before the Hoops hit back through a late own goal from Mark Sykes.

Norwich debutant Andre Brooks was on target as the Canaries cruised to a 4-1 win against MK Dons at Carrow Road.

Cardiff substitute Jack Moylan also scored on his debut, firing the winner as the Bluebirds won 3-2 against Swindon, for whom James Debayo was sent off for two yellow cards in the final six minutes.

August Priske’s first-half finish sealed Birmingham a 1-0 win at Swansea and Marc Bola’s stunning long-range strike deep in added time clinched Watford victory over Crawley by the same score.

Late goals from substitutes Andri Gudjohnsen and Jayden Fevrier secured Blackburn a 2-1 win at Burton.

Newly-promoted Lincoln picked up where they left off last season, winning 2-1 at Derby thanks to first-half goals from Ben House and Dom Jefferies before Sammie Szmodics pulled one back for the Rams.

Ollie Norburn’s own goal and Robert Bozenik’s late effort secured Stoke a 2-0 win against Oldham at the bet365 Stadium and Bradford pair Will Swan and Aden Baldwin earned their side a 2-0 home win against Rochdale.

Fleetwood captain Ched Evans’ first-half effort sealed his side a 1-0 home win against Chesterfield and Cambridge hit back to beat Barnet 2-1 through second-half goals from Ben Knight and Isaac Heath.

AFC Wimbledon, Barnsley and Reading progressed after winning on penalties against Newport, Wigan and Bromley respectively, while Preston, Shrewsbury and Doncaster came through respective shoot-outs against Huddersfield, Salford and Stockport.

Luca Moore’s late goal sealed Crewe a 2-1 victory against Accrington at Gresty Road and late goals from Demetri Mitchell and Idris El Mizouni secured Leyton Orient a 2-0 home win against Oxford.

Peterborough, Luton and Blackpool all won on the road, at Bristol Rovers, Gillingham and Grimsby respectively, and Caleb Okoli’s header secured Leicester a 1-0 home win against Northampton.

In the evening kick-offs, there was a 2-0 victory for Southampton as Cyle Larin and Romeo Akachukwu scored their goals at Colchester.

While West Brom won 4-1 at Rotherham and Charlton secured a 3-1 victory at Cheltenham.

When is the second round draw?

The draw for the second round of the 2026/27 Carabao Cup will be made live on Sky Sports Football on Monday August 10, during the build-up to the tie between Plymouth and Exeter.

The draw will feature all first-round winners, as well as the 11 Premier League clubs not participating in European competition.

All Saturday’s results

Cambridge 2-1 Barnet
QPR 1-1 Millwall (0-2 pens)
AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Newport (5-4 pens)
Barnsley 1-1 Wigan (6-5 pens)
Bradford 2-0 Rochdale
Bristol Rovers 0-1 Peterborough
Bromley 1-1 Reading (4-5 pens)
Burnley 1-1 Notts County (4-3 pens)
Burton 1-2 Blackburn
Cardiff 3-2 Swindon
Crewe 2-1 Accrington
Derby 1-2 Lincoln
Fleetwood 1-0 Chesterfield
Gillingham 1-3 Blackpool
Leicester 1-0 Northampton
Leyton Orient 2-0 Oxford
Norwich 4-1 MK Dons
Preston 1-1 Huddersfield (4-3 pens)
Salford 1-1 Shrewsbury (3-4 pens)
Sheff Wed 1-0 Bolton
Stockport 1-1 Doncaster (4-5 pens)
Stoke 2-0 Oldham
Swansea 0-1 Birmingham
Watford 1-0 Crawley
West Ham 3-1 Portsmouth
Cheltenham 1-3 Charlton
Colchester 0-2 Southampton
Rotherham 1-4 West Brom

Sports

'Good signs' for Man Utd as Mbeumo scores in encouraging draw with PSG

Published

14 minutes ago

August 9, 2026

qasimgillani

Bryan Mbeumo earned Man Utd a 1-1 draw with Paris St-Germain in Gothenburg, a pre-season friendly which left boss Michael Carrick encouraged by the “good signs” from his side.