The SEC announced its kickoff times for games of Nov. 9 on Monday, and to no one’s surprise Alabama at LSU wound up in prime time.
Well, almost no one’s surprise.
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin expressed (at least sarcastic) disbelief that Alabama-LSU will kick off at 6:30 p.m. under the lights at Tiger Stadium. The day’s other marquee SEC game — Georgia at Ole Miss — is at 2:30 p.m.
During his press conference Monday previewing this weekend’s game at Arkansas (an 11 a.m. kickoff, by the way), Kiffin was asked if playing a home game at night was a particular advantage over playing during the day. His answer didn’t disappoint.
“Playing at night in electric atmospheres is a home field advantage,” Kiffin said. “It’s tough when you’ve got to do that as an opposing team. That’s been proven over time.”
Kiffin then asked “So who went at night?” before answering his own question.
“LSU gets to play at night again, I guess?,” he said. “Shocker. So that’s 2-for-2 for them. It is an advantage. I feel bad for our fans, to not have at least one game at night for a conference game. It’s really unfortunate for them.
LSU of course has a tradition of playing home games at night, when Tiger Stadium becomes one of the more festive and intimidating venues in the SEC (as it was when Kiffin’s Rebels traveled to Baton Rouge earlier this season). It’s something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, however, as the Tigers are rarely asked to play notable home games during the day.
Ole Miss, on the other hand, won’t have a night SEC home game this season. Two of the Rebels’ conference games in Oxford kicked off at 11 a.m. (Kentucky and Oklahoma), with the other two at 2:30 p.m. (Georgia and Mississippi State).
During the SEC on CBS days that ended in 2023, the 2:30 p.m. kickoff was considered the league’s “game of the week.” That’s changed since ABC/ESPN took over exclusive rights to SEC games this year, with more and more top TV draws pushed to night kickoffs.
“… So, whatever. It’s just really disappointing. It is what it is.”
