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Every Ole Miss football Saturday in Oxford, Mississippi, is an “all hands on deck” effort for public safety. But there are going to be even more preventive measures taken ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated matchup against Lane Kiffin and LSU.
Oxford’s near 150-person staff, patrol, and civilian units, will welcome additional units from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans in the form of mounted patrol—police officers accompanied by horses to patrol downtown Oxford and surrounding areas, an Oxford Police Department spokesperson told Front Office Sports. The incoming units will go through a training with Oxford police ahead of Saturday’s festivities. Adding additional units for large events is not uncommon; Oxford police are often dispatched to help with events in neighboring states, such as Mardi Gras.
“They do different things [in the training], crowd techniques and things like that,” the spokesperson told FOS. “It’s beyond just crowd control. Just extra presence where they can be there and on horseback. One of the coolest things is they kind of have a good vantage point. They’re up higher. They can see things and they can look in the crowds and make sure that everyone’s okay. It’s a public safety thing for sure.”
New Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding addressed the situation during his Monday press conference. When asked about his message to Ole Miss fans, Golding charged fans with making the atmosphere as rowdy as possible while keeping respect in mind. The Rebels enter Saturday night with a 13-game home winning streak.
“There’s nothing wrong with being competitive and being in the moment,” Golding said. “But at the end of the day, don’t lose what we’ve created for so long, which is a really good, unique place with really, really good people that’s really hard to play.”
On the field, No. 7 LSU vs. No. 8 Ole Miss is the first top-10 showdown between the rivals since 1962, when No. 6 Ole Miss defeated No. 4 LSU with a final score of 15–7. The drama surrounding this year’s game is palpable, highlighted by Kiffin’s departure from Ole Miss to LSU amid the Rebels’ College Football Playoff run last season.
From Kiffin’s perspective, the expected animosity toward him is an advantage for his team. His message to his team has been clear: let him take the brunt of the negativity while they focus on the game.
“I told the players, you don’t have to worry about anything as far as attention on you all week,” Kiffin said. “There’s so much attention and hatred on me, you just get to go play.
“Really, the pressure is on [Ole Miss]. We won seven games last year; they won 13. They return two Heisman candidates [quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, running back Kewan Lacy]. How often does that happen in the same backfield? … so you guys just get to go play, the pressure’s not on you.”
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