Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Mississippi State supporters broke into the Rebels’ road locker room Thursday night and early Friday morning ahead of the Egg Bowl rivalry game at Mississippi State’s Davis Wade Stadium.
In an interview on SEC Network on Friday morning ahead of the noon kickoff, Kiffin said Ole Miss’ equipment manager put hidden cameras in the locker room, which caught people “(breaking) into our locker room and start stealing things” late Thursday evening.
“We reported it to Mississippi State, they said they would put security,” Kiffin told ESPN’s Marty Smith. “And how about this: At 3 o’clock in the morning, they break in again and take (quarterback) Trinidad (Chambliss)’s jersey. I guess you expect nothing less from these people.”
.@Lane_Kiffin pregame chat with @MartySmithESPN 👀 pic.twitter.com/vmh0hzsrIa
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 28, 2025
Ole Miss reportedly traveled with backup jerseys, so it shouldn’t be an issue for the Black Friday matchup.
There is heightened attention on this year’s Egg Bowl due to the Rebels’ College Football Playoff prospects, as well as the future for Kiffin, who is being courted to open head-coaching positions at LSU and Florida. Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter said last week that Kiffin is expected to make a decision Saturday, following the end of the regular season.
Kiffin, who has been noncommittal about the outside coaching interest in recent weeks, remained that way with Smith on Friday morning inside Davis Wade Stadium, as early arriving Mississippi State fans taunted Kiffin and the Rebels with chants about LSU and Florida.
“Today is about this game. … A lot on the line, our guys are focused and ready to play,” Kiffin said. “This noise thing you’re referring to, this has been going on for weeks, this isn’t new for us.”
No. 7 Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1 SEC) has a chance to win 11 regular-season games for the first time in program history with a victory over the Bulldogs, and can secure an at-large bid to the CFP. The Rebels are also still in the hunt for the SEC championship game, and can clinch a spot with a win and losses by Texas A&M and Alabama.
The looming question is whether Kiffin would make the unprecedented choice to leave Ole Miss in the midst of a Playoff run to take a job at LSU or Florida for next season. As the Kiffin sweepstakes have leaked into the public discourse, the polarizing head coach has deflected questions about his decision.
Asked about his timeline by Smith, Kiffin said he was looking forward to playing the Egg Bowl and then watching his son, Knox, quarterback Oxford High in the Mississippi high school football playoffs on Friday evening.
“When you perform really well as players, and as a team, assistant coaches, there is a lot of stuff that goes with that, just like player awards and stuff like that,” Kiffin said. “All of it is a compliment to their success.”
This story will be updated.
