Ole Miss-LSU Rivalry Escalates With State Governors Trading Shots Online
What started as a coaching move has turned into a cross-state social media war
It's no secret that the states of Mississippi and Louisiana have a little bit of a friendly rivalry.
The rivalry extends far beyond statehood, as the two flagship football programs of their respective universities, Ole Miss and LSU, have a longstanding hatred for one another as well.
That has only intensified in recent weeks as the Tigers went out and stole the Rebels' head coach, Lane Kiffin, right out from under them just before Ole Miss' first College Football Playoff appearance in their program's history.
Things have boiled over so much that the governors of both states have decided to join in on the fun.
It all started with Eli Manning (yes, that Eli Manning), as the two-time Super Bowl champ and former Ole Miss quarterback jokingly posted on X that he was the one to run Kiffin off the road on his way out of Mississippi.
Tate Reeves, the governor of the Magnolia State, responded with a ringing endorsement of Manning and a thinly veiled shot at the former coach of his state's university.
Louisiana governor Jeff Landry, a famous figure in LSU's coaching search, hopped on X to fire back at Reeves.
All in good fun, right?
That should have been the end of things, but yesterday, on the eve of Ole Miss' playoff game, Governor Reeves decided to stir things up once again and respond to Landry.
Wow! What a shot! Talk about taking "it just means more" to the next level!
A twofold attack at that. Sniping LSU for missing the playoff this year while Ole Miss is in AND having the Rebels as the heavy favorites against another team from Louisiana.
Landry couldn't let that one slide, so he clapped right back at his gubernatorial neighbor.
This is getting spicy!
I think I speak for everyone when I say that Sept. 19 can't get here fast enough.
Next year's Magnolia Bowl might be the most watched game in this rivalry's storied history, and for good reason.
Maybe, instead of a governor's bet, we can just have Landry and Reeves have a sanctioned boxing match at the 50-yard line.
All this animosity and social media beef because one immature coach couldn't leave his former program with dignity.
Thanks for being you, Lane, because now we get an already-historic rivalry get turned up to 11.
You've gotta love the SEC, folks!