​OXFORD — LSU football coach Lane Kiffin was surprised by how he felt in his return to Ole Miss.The No. 9 Rebels beat No. 7 LSU 32-24 on Sept. 19 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0 SEC) hung on despite a second-half charge from the Tigers (2-1, 0-1). “It was really emotional driving in on the bus for a lot of reasons,” Kififn said. “And I’m not just saying this because I lost. I would have said this anyway, since you asked. It was really a lot of emotions of gratefulness for this place and for the six years that went well beyond football. Kind of the first time coming in this place without my dad. It was a lot. It was really emotional, but it was not the emotions that maybe I would have thought from all the name calling.”Kiffin’s father, Monte, was a legendary coach in college and had a huge impact on Kiffin’s life. Monte died in 2024 at 84. Ole Miss said a crowd of 70,033 was on hand. It is a record at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.”The crowd showed up today and was a factor there at the end,” Kiffin said. “Credit to them.”He couldn’t resist a little jab at his former place of employment. It was the only time he cracked a smile in his 10-minute press conference.”The stadium was full an hour early,” Kiffin said. “I guess I had to leave to get them to do that, so you’re welcome.”Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Lane Kiffin said he had unexpected emotions in return to Ole Miss as LSU coach