Lane Kiffin's LSU plummets in rankings as playoff hopes take major hit

Lane Kiffin probably imagined his first trip back to Oxford going a little differently. Instead, he watched his former team beat LSU, 32-24, climb into the top five and deal a serious blow to his new team's playoff hopes. And judging by the latest rankings, Saturday's loss is going to sting for a while.

Ole Miss gets the last laugh against Lane Kiffin

There was never going to be a warm welcome for Kiffin at Ole Miss. Not after he left the Rebels for LSU, only to return nine months later wearing the opposing team's colors.

His former players made sure the reunion was even less enjoyable.

Ole Miss built a 24-7 halftime lead, forcing LSU to spend most of the afternoon playing catch-up. The Tigers eventually tied the game in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Trinidad Chambliss had one more answer. His 14-yard touchdown run put the Rebels back in front for good.

The aftermath wasn't particularly kind to LSU, either.

Ole Miss jumped four spots to No. 4 in the AP Top 25, while LSU dropped from seventh to 10th. Kiffin left Oxford hoping to build a championship contender in Baton Rouge. For one Saturday, the program he left behind looked a whole lot closer to that goal.

LSU's playoff hopes take a hit

The latest ESPN playoff projection puts LSU's chances at 28%, down 22 percentage points following the loss.

That's an ugly swing for a team that entered Oxford undefeated. Worse, the quarterback who spoiled Kiffin's return was someone he helped bring to Ole Miss in the first place.

Chambliss threw for 363 yards and two touchdowns before scoring the go-ahead touchdown himself. LSU had erased a 17-point deficit, only to watch Chambliss march the Rebels 75 yards downfield and reclaim the lead. 

And LSU still had a chance to steal it. Instead, Jaylon Braxton intercepted the Tigers in the end zone on their final possession.

Another loss could leave LSU in serious trouble

Kiffin doesn't have much time to sort this out. No. 23 Texas A&M comes to Baton Rouge on Saturday, and the Aggies have problems of their own after losing 31-21 to Kentucky.

Both teams entered last weekend ranked in the top 10. Both now find themselves trying to avoid a second consecutive SEC loss. 

LSU isn't out of the playoff race. It's September, and there's plenty of football left. But Kiffin didn't leave Ole Miss for LSU expecting to watch his former program celebrate a top-five ranking while his new team scrambles to recover from its first conference game.

Losing in Oxford was bad enough. Returning to Baton Rouge with a 28% playoff projection makes the trip considerably harder to forget.