As the 2024 college football season nears, it sure looks like LSU’s Brian Kelly still wants all of the smoke from Ole Miss’s Lane Kiffin. He couldn’t have made it more obvious during a Wednesday press conference in Baton Rouge.
The public feud between the respective schools’ football programs is definitely back on.
Just days after Kiffin went viral for a random tangent about how unhealthy Coca-Cola is for people, Kelly strolled to the podium immediately pontificating about how much he enjoys Smartwater — a Coca-Cola product — and all Coca-Cola products in general. (Especially because they’re an apparent sponsor of LSU athletics.)
Because he also said it before taking any questions, it was abundantly clear Kelly was making reference to Kiffin’s rant:
Lane Kiffin’s press conference: “Does anybody drink Coke? You realize 130% of your sugar for the entire day is in this one bottle?”
Brian Kelly’s press conference: “Hold my Smartwater…” pic.twitter.com/3mPxJhAIic
— The Bengal Tiger (@BengalTigerOn3) August 21, 2024
I get that Kelly probably has a healthy distaste for Kiffin, and I appreciate his going out of the way to hate an SEC rival. But did he really have to go the commercial route, talking about how much he loves an endorsed product out loud? I can’t lie. I didn’t even really laugh at this little exchange. I probably would’ve given him a fake laugh if I had been there in person.
Who am I kidding? It’s not as if Kelly has a good pulse about not sounding and looking incredibly corny.
Ole Miss and LSU will meet in this year’s Magnolia Bowl on October 12. Stay tuned because more fireworks between Kiffin and Kelly are probably on the way.
