Mississippi will assemble the state's largest law-enforcement presence ever for a college football game this weekend, highlighting the heightened security in place around the stadium and off campus for the much-anticipated game Saturday night against LSU and former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin. Ole Miss students were warned this week that nobody wearing an opposing team's apparel will be allowed to enter the student section at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, and that anyone spotted by security in opponent gear or colors during the game will be removed, per the AP. This unusually strict protocol was enacted with tensions between the Southeastern Conference rivals as high as ever, following Kiffin's departure for LSU late last year at the end of the regular season, just before Ole Miss entered the College Football Playoff.
The Tigers are ranked seventh and the Rebels are eighth in the latest AP poll. Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, announced earlier this week that between 65 and 70 troopers and officers from the highway patrol and commercial transportation enforcement division would be in Oxford to "maintain a highly visible and proactive presence through the conclusion of the weekend." The operation also will include a helicopter and a mobile command center to coordinate surveillance of the scene, not for a specific threat but rather to be proactive.
Louisiana State Police have sent 15 officers to work with Mississippi law enforcement, Tindell said, to help ensure safe and efficient transportation and operations for LSU's traveling party. "Our priority is making sure everyone can enjoy the game and surrounding events safely," Tindell said. The operation also includes officers with the school and the city. Oxford, which has a nonstudent population of about 27,000, has six horses for officers on mounted patrol and will increase that on Saturday to at least 10, with officers from Mobile, Alabama, coming to help, an Oxford police rep said.
When Ole Miss played Tennessee in 2021, bringing Kiffin back to another past coaching stop, play was halted for about 20 minutes after Volunteers fans upset about a fourth-down spot of the ball in the closing minutes of a close game pelted the field with objects. Kiffin said he was hit by golf balls and liquor bottles. Ole Miss coach Pete Golding echoed the calls for restraint from Rebels fans. "There's nothing wrong with being competitive, being in the moment, being really loud, and being an unbelievable fan," Golding said this week at a presser. "At the end of the day, don't lose what we've created."
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