Well, Lane Kiffin’s return to Knoxville definitely lived up to the hype.
The Ole Miss coach made his return to Tennessee tonight, 11 years after unceremoniously jumping ship as the Vols head coach to take the head coaching job at USC.
And it was definitely one to remember.
The Vols and Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels were locked in a close one all night at Neyland Stadium. With Ole Miss up 31-26 with 54 seconds left on the clock, Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker completed a pass on 4th and 24 to tight end Jacob Warren, who dove for the first down but was ruled to be inches short of the marker.
And Tennessee fans weren’t happy.
Vols fans began throwing debris on the field, causing the game to be delayed for 20 minutes and security personnel to clear the student section of Neyland Stadium.
Kiffin was even hit with a golf ball as fans expressed their displeasure with the call, with the Tennessee band and cheerleaders leaving the stadium entirely.
But through all of it, there were still 54 seconds left on the game clock and Tennessee had all 3 of their timeouts – plenty of time for the Vols to make a stop and get the ball back and score to win the game.
After play resumed, Tennessee managed to get the ball back after burning all three of their timeouts. But after Hooker, their quarterback, went down and backup QB Joe Milton III was left with four seconds on the clock, he inexplicably ran out of bounds as time expired to give Ole Miss the win.
And as Kiffin and the Rebels walked off the field victorious, fans continued to shower their former coach with debris.
Kiffin managed to get off the field safely, but not before tossing his visor into the hostile crowd.
It was an embarrassing look all around for Tennessee, but ultimately it was Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels that got the last laugh.
