Kiffin's McAfee appearance and the 'two most hated' line
LSU head coach Lane Kiffin appeared on ESPN's College GameDay in Baton Rouge ahead of the Tigers' Saturday matchup with Clemson, and used the segment to address the swirl of criticism surrounding his arrival in the SEC. Asked by Pat McAfee about being "sued by the Southeastern Conference" roughly two days earlier, Kiffin leaned into the backlash. "That's why I've really appreciated our friendship and this week your guidance with me because between you and I, we're about the two most hated people there are," Kiffin said, recounting that McAfee had told him to "just focus on it, don't worry about the noise." The segment was the first College GameDay broadcast from Kiffin's new home of Baton Rouge since he was hired away from Ole Miss.
McAfee framed the moment around Kiffin's turbulent first months at LSU, telling him it had been "chaos all the time" since his arrival. Kiffin replied, "A lot of times to do great things, you're going to be hated."
The SEC lawsuit and why Kiffin faced the question
The lawsuit hanging over the appearance was filed earlier in the week by the SEC against LSU, Kiffin and other school administrators in a North Alabama federal court, alleging violations of the conference's first amendment right to enforce its own rules. At issue is LSU's use of the transfer portal to add players who had appeared in NFL training camps and on NFL rosters, including former Ole Miss players Dae'Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris, who had said they expected to be added to LSU's roster for the upcoming season.
A Louisiana state court had earlier issued a preliminary injunction allowing those players to be rostered by other schools, and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey testified in a contentious hearing that any conference school that rostered players with professional ties would be violating newly created eligibility rules. The SEC's Presidents and Chancellors authorized Sankey to enforce the rules with punishments that include a 50% suspension of any violating head coach along with substantial institutional fines.
LSU's Friday decision and the roster deadline
With LSU facing a Friday deadline to submit its roster before the official start of the season, the school held Wright and Harris off its official roster for the Clemson game. Multiple reports indicated the decision was driven less by Kiffin than by LSU administrators, Governor Jeff Landry, President Wade Rousse and the school's legal counsel, who spent Thursday evening and Friday weighing the risks against an SEC exemption adopted in April that allows a team to add players who are currently enrolled as full-time students.
Under that exemption, LSU retains the option to add Wright, Harris or other players with NFL ties at a later point during the season. The conference's federal suit, however, remains pending.
Reaction from inside the sport
Separately, sportscaster Jim Gray labeled the court injunction allowing NFL players to return to college football "ridiculous," criticizing Kiffin and LSU as the underlying NCAA legal battle continued. Paul Finebaum, in his own commentary, tore into Kiffin over the situation and floated the possibility of LSU's eventual SEC exit, framing the program as the embodiment of college football's current "Wild West era."
Clemson game and what to watch next
Kiffin and LSU's immediate focus turns to Saturday night's opener against Clemson, the highest-profile Week 1 matchup of the season on paper, with the SEC lawsuit and any subsequent roster moves under the April exemption the next clear inflection points. McAfee, who has separately drawn fire for his compensation while ESPN has conducted layoffs, appeared alongside Kiffin with the show originating from LSU's campus.
Share this article
