Oklahoma fans were blindsided when news leaked that Ole Miss would be one of the Sooners' three annual opponents, and Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin, known to speak his mind, was apparently just as confused.
With the move of switching to nine conference games starting in 2026, the SEC set three annual opponents to help maintain and create new rivalries, while every other conference opponent will rotate on the schedule every other year. The Sooners' three rivals became official Tuesday evening with Texas, Missouri and Ole Miss. The Rebels got OU, Mississippi State and LSU.
Ole Miss one of Sooners' three annual SEC opponents
Kiffin was asked about Ole Miss' three selections during Wednesday's SEC teleconference.
"The Oklahoma (pairing) is really disappointing," Kiffin said. "We don't have anything in common with them or our fans, so that doesn't make any sense at all. And so that's unfortunate with so many great teams that we played for a long time here, especially from our SEC West years. That's unfortunate. It is what it is.
"Obviously the Egg Bowl (vs. Missisippi State) is staying, so they really had two choices. The LSU makes sense, and that's great. The other one makes no sense."
Lane Kiffin from teleconference on playing Oklahoma in the new scheduling format for SEC pic.twitter.com/ndcl38Xuz5
— Jeremie Poplin (@jeremiepoplin) September 24, 2025
Some OU fans took this as a slight from Kiffin, but not only is it more a compliment, but it echoes what most of Sooner Nation also thought.
A big reason why Kiffin wouldn't want the Sooners on the schedule every season is because of their consistency. There's almost no doubt OU will be competitive every time the Rebels have that challenge in the future. The same can't be said for other possible options like Arkansas and South Carolina.
With this new schedule, the Rebels also got the misfortune of traveling to Norman in back-to-back seasons. After hosting the Sooners last year, Ole Miss will visit OU on Oct. 25, then return to Norman for the 2026 season.
Kiffin was also correct in saying that there's no logical connection between Oklahoma and Ole Miss. The SEC wanted to promote rivalries, and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey even said geography would be a factor. Neither was the case in this pairing.
The Sooners and Rebels have played only twice before and the trek is not an easy one for either fan base between Norman and Oxford. This will not be a matchup that gets fans excited no matter what the SEC deemed it, because not even Kiffin is thrilled about it.
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