OLE MISS

Lane Kiffin 'down on our cops' who ducked bottle thrown at him after Tennessee game

Erik Hall
Mississippi Clarion Ledger

Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin appeared as a guest with Paul Finebaum on "The Paul Finebaum Show" on Friday as the show aired from The Grove in Oxford, Mississippi. 

Finebaum asked Kiffin several questions about Tennessee fans throwing items on the field at the Ole Miss football game in Knoxville on Saturday, Oct. 16. 

Kiffin said he never felt in any real danger for his safety, and he repeatedly said that only a handful of Tennessee fans were involved.

But when it came to the cops involved, Kiffin wasn't as forgiving. 

Lane Kiffin comments on cops at Tennessee, Ole Miss football

Kiffin said when items started being thrown on the field that he told his players to keep their helmets on to help avoid anything hitting them in the head. 

"Players keep your helmets on and I kind of moved about 5 yards off the sidelines," Kiffin said. "There were some cops behind me, which by the way, they didn't do a very good job." 

Kiffin then started talking about how he had police officers surrounding him as he walked off the field at the end of the game, and just as he reached the back of the end zone, a bottle comes toward him. Several of the police ducked, but Kiffin put his right arm in the air to grab the bottle. 

"Because when I was walking off, I had the cops that are supposed to protect you," Kiffin said. "They throw a bottle. The cops duck, and I grab the bottle. So I was kind of down on our cops."

Finebaum asked Kiffin, "Were they your cops or their cops?" 

"I think they were a mixture," Kiffin said. 

Finebaum laughed at that then said, "They definitely had speed, though." 

"Yes," Kiffin said. 

Lane Kiffin compares Neyland Stadium to Roman Colosseum

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin waves to the crowd after beating Tennessee last Oct. 16 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

Earlier in the conversation with Finebaum, Kiffin compared what occurred at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to the Roman Colosseum.

"There was no prep for that," Kiffin said. "It's kind of like the Roman Colosseum movie where everybody turns on you. (Ole Miss quarterback) Matt (Corral) joked, 'I felt like in "Gladiator" where they do the thumbs down.' And everyone was cheering when he was hurt. So as you know going there, it's passionate fans there."

Corral was injured with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter, and backup quarterback Luke Altmyer had to come in the game for a play.

"When all that was going on and walking off the field and they're throwing stuff and yelling stuff, just show love back and spoil them with kindness or whatever it is," Kiffin said. "They're just passionate, and it was just a rare situation. Then again, that was a small percentage of the Tennessee fans, so by no means was that everybody in the stadium at all. They're awesome, passionate fans. That place was rocking from the beginning, from warmups." 

Mississippi Football Coach Lane Kiffin waves to the crowd after a football game between Tennessee and Ole Miss at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.

Ole Miss plays LSU at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.

Ole Miss, ranked No. 12 in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, comes into the game 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. Most recently, Ole Miss beat Tennessee 31-26 on Oct. 16. 

Here's more Ole Miss football news: 

LSU enters the contest 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the SEC. On Oct. 16, LSU defeated Florida 49-42. Ed Orgeron is the LSU Tigers football head coach.

Erik Hall is the lead digital producer for sports with the USA Today Network. You can find him on Twitter @HallErik.