WATCH: Lane Kiffin catches water bottle, throws visor in stands
Chaos ensued as the clock slowly ran out at Neyland Stadium on Saturday night. As fans threw debris on the field as the matchup between Ole Miss and Tennessee came to an end, Lane Kiffin was at the center of it all.
After getting hit with a golf ball during the game, Kiffin caught a wayward water bottle on his way out of the stadium. Then, he took his visor and tossed it into the crowd like John Cena throwing his hat into the WWE Universe.
Volunteers fans inside Neyland Stadium showed the ugly side of their passion on Saturday night. While Kiffin’s been public enemy number one since he abruptly left the university, there’s no excuses for yesterday’s actions.
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Kiffin may have escaped Neyland Stadium without his visor, but leaving victorious is a good trade-off. The game may feel secondary due to the crowd’s actions, but Ole Miss took care of business last night.
Kiffin: ‘This is a great place and great fans.’
After the victory, Kiffin addressed the behavior in a postgame interview. Instead of disparaging the Volunteers’ fanbase, the Rebels head coach opted to compliment them.
“Relief,” Kiffin told ESPN’s Cole Cubelic during the post-game interview about what he felt. “I don’t know if I’m more excited we found a way to win or I didn’t get hit with the golf balls they were throwing at me. But no really, our defense rose to the occasion. We did horrible on offense by not finishing off. (Matt Carrol) battled with a ton of injuries around him. We had basically four starters didn’t play on offense. So an electric crowd — credit to them — this is a great place and great fans.”
Moreover, Kiffin talked about the message he sent to his team after being hit with the golf ball.
“Well, they were just throwing stuff and I said ‘put your helmets on let’s play,’” he said. “It was actually their people who came over and moved us off. … It is what it is. They’re passionate fans and they’re 100,00 people who came to see a show. It didn’t end up the way they wanted; so it is what it is”
When Lane Kiffin entered the stadium, he was greeted with a parade of boos from Tennessee fans. That prompted him to offer a joking response when asked pregame how he stays calm in such an environment.
“Matt Corral,” he quipped with a smile. “I got you on that one. You thought I was gonna say popcorn.”
At that point, he hardly could have imagined just how crazy things would get at the end of the game. Corral finished 21 of 38 for 231 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 195 yards on a team-high 30 carries.
Happy to head home and away from the out-of-line Volunteers fans, Kiffin and the Rebels will look to continue to climb the SEC standings next week. A game against LSU, fresh off of a victory against Florida, awaits.
On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this article.