The entire SEC, Auburn included, would be affected if the conference really canceled LSU-Ole Miss in Week 3. One SEC stakeholder told Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger that it's a possibility Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford, Mississippi, on September 19 won't happen.
"The game may not be played at all," a stakeholder told Dellenger.
Dellenger also shared the possibility of that game turning into a non-conference matchup. In that case, LSU would be thrown out of the conference via a vote on Thursday by presidents and chancellors.
That is far more likely than two SEC contenders having their 2026 schedule altered on short notice. Even if LSU were a non-conference opponent for Ole Miss, the SEC would be fractured permanently.
Throwing out a founding member, especially one with a culture that's synonymous with the conference, is drastic. It's potentially an extinction-level event for the SEC. And it wouldn't stop at just the SEC.
It's apparently born from the idea that LSU can't control Kiffin's football team. That might be the buried lede.
School presidents are the most powerful men in the conference. Not SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. If LSU system president Wade Rousse can't control Kiffin, then how far behind is football breaking away from the rest of the NCAA system?
How far behind is the college football super league?
What happens to the idea of a student-athlete in that case?
Will college and education even be part of the equation at all anymore if the system moves that way?
There are so many questions with no answer. The only question that concerns Auburn and has a clear answer is whether or not AU would benefit from LSU leaving the conference.
No one in the SEC would benefit from this. That's for sure.
LSU backed down from the SEC, meaning this might've been for show
Don't worry about it, though. This may have been all for show. Just a Kiffin passion project as he settles in at LSU. Just Kiffin being a troll, like always.
Auburn hiring Hugh Freeze instead of this man in 2022 was somehow the less stressful outcome. Wouldn't you know it.
It was reported that LSU won't add tight end Dae'Quan Wright and defensive tackle Zxavian Harris to their roster after all.
The Tigers are adding defensive end Gabriel Reliford, who tore his ACL, and corner Aidan Anding, who tore his Achilles, to reach the 105-man roster maximum, instead. Neither is expected to play this season.
This all might've been a creative marketing ploy by Kiffin to make his team the most hated in the country. Kiffin might be looking to establish a "Louisiana vs. Everybody" mindset. It may have worked, assuming the SEC doesn't vote to do anything drastic on Thursday. Many of the state's politicians are sticking up for LSU. Certainly, Tiger fans are fighting battles on Kiffin's behalf across social media.
What was it all for? The questions? The worries? Most of all, the threat of expulsion?
Probably nothing now that the former NFL players are officially not Tigers. Carry on.
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