Anxiety Rankings, Week 3: Lane Kiffin facing a lot more than just embarrassment if LSU loses to Ole Miss - CBS Sports

There are very few things in life that can stir emotions within you like college football. For four months a year, millions of Americans decide to put their mental well-being in the hands of a collection of 18- to 24-year-old men they do not know personally. All they know is that they've chosen to wear their preferred uniform. Sometimes this decision brings joy. Other times it brings pain.

But what it always brings as kickoff draws near every week is anxiety. There's always the nervous energy of the unknown heading into a game. You can never be sure how things will go, and where the rollercoaster will take you. However, while we all feel it, some of us feel it more than others, and each week, The Anxiety Rankings aim to find the five most anxious places in the country.

Welcome to Week 3. Try to stay calm. You'll fail, but try all the same.

Somehow, someway, college football's main character has found a way to make himself the center of attention this week. Well, alright, considering LSU is going to Oxford to play Ole Miss this weekend, there was no way on Earth that Lane wasn't going to be the center of attention.

But we have to give Kiffin credit for making things even more interesting.

The LSU injury report that was released Wednesday night had a huge surprise on it. Sam Leavitt, who played nearly the entirety of LSU's 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech, was listed as "doubtful." Leavitt seemed fine in the postgame Saturday, and no reports were coming out of Baton Rouge from people who cover the program every day that there was any kind of injury concern.

But there he was. Not "probable" or "questionable", but "doubtful." Players who have been listed as doubtful in the short history of college injury reports rarely play that week. Yet few believed it to be a real injury. It was obviously another case of Lane being Lane, and flaunting rules and regulations for his own personal amusement.

ChatGPT probably told him it'd be funny.

As for what Leavitt's injury was, multiple reports seeped out over the next 24 hours. He hadn't thrown in practice because his shoulder or arm was sore. By Thursday, it was back spasms. By Thursday night, the miracles of modern medicine won out, and Leavitt was upgraded to "questionable." As for whether it's real, given Leavitt's injury history, it can't be ruled out. But given Kiffin's history, and all the drama surrounding this week's game (let's not ignore the fact that Ole Miss is serving papers to LSU players as part of an ongoing lawsuit this week, too), it's hard to believe any of it's real.

It's probably a designed distraction, because that's the way Kiffin operates. While most coaches preach to their team the importance of avoiding distractions, Kiffin seeks them out. He uses them to his advantage. And this week, I can understand the impulse.

Let's make one thing clear here: Lane Kiffin and LSU have far more to lose this week than Ole Miss does. Kiffin chose to leave Ole Miss for LSU because he felt he had a better chance to compete for national titles at LSU, even though Ole Miss was in the midst of a playoff run and LSU has barely sniffed a playoff berth since winning it all in 2019. It's a justifiable belief given the history of the programs, but what if LSU loses this game?

What if the QB who didn't follow Lane to Baton Rouge outplays the one who supposedly needs a minor miracle to play? It's not as if things will get any easier for the Tigers after this game. If they lose, they have to pick themselves up off the mat and face No. 9 Texas A&M next week. They've also got games left against No. 10 Alabama, No. 1 Texas and No. 15 Tennessee.

What if Lane left Ole Miss for greener pastures only to lose to Ole Miss and go on to miss a College Football Playoff berth, while the Rebels -- who would have wins over LSU and Louisville already, and a schedule that looks a bit kinder at the moment -- returned to it?

Kiffin can remain friends with Pete Golding and other members of the Ole Miss staff, but do you honestly believe he's rooting for them to succeed without him? I don't. I think he'd prefer it if Ole Miss fell back to mediocrity just so it proves that he was the only reason for the program's success.

There's a lot more on the line for Kiffin this week than just a win or a loss. No wonder he wants so many distractions.