New on Sports Illustrated: Lane Kiffin Thanks Alabama, Ole Miss Fans for Popcorn Delivery After Pregame Comments

At least Lane Kiffin can laugh at himself after last week's 41-21 shellacking at the hands of Nick Saban and Alabama.

Lane Kiffin may have embarrassed himself a bit with his pregame comments before facing Alabama on Saturday, but at least Ole Miss's coach got a good snack out of it.

Kiffin appeared quite confident as Ole Miss prepared to host No. 1 Alabama,

telling viewers on CBS to "get your popcorn ready" before dropping his headset to end a pregame interview. The decision quickly looked foolish. Alabama sprinted out to a 21-0 lead, winning 41-21 as Kiffin's squad looked completely overmatched.

Kiffin apologized for his comments on Monday, though it doesn't appear as though his pregame bombast has lost him any love in either Oxford or Tuscaloosa. Kiffin posted a picture Thursday featuring various brands of popcorn, thanking the Alabama and Ole Miss fans for their generosity despite the blowout loss.

The Ole Miss program continued to lean into the joke on Thursday. The first 5,000 fans at Vaught Hemingway Stadium on Saturday will receive free popcorn, a nice pregame snack before Ole Miss hosts No. 13 Arkansas. Perhaps Kiffin can back up his pregame proclamation with Nick Saban out of town.

Kiffin enters Saturday 8–6 at Ole Miss as he continues his second season with the program. He is 70–40 in 10 seasons as a college head coach, including stints at Tennessee, USC and Florida Atlantic.

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