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Lane Kiffin-Brian Kelly: Revisiting Ole Miss, LSU coaches' early-season Coke banter

Ole Miss football finds itself renewing one of college football's oldest rivalries in Week 7, as the Rebels travel down to Louisiana to face No. 10 LSU in the 2024 edition of the Magnolia Bowl.

It's a rivalry series between the Rebels and the Tigers that dates back to 1894 between two of the SEC's oldest programs.

But that isn't the only item being renewed on Saturday. The SEC top-10 showdown is the first time Lane Kiffin and Brian Kelly will meet up since their preseason banter surrounding Coca-Cola.

Here's a look back at the Kiffin and Kelly's lighthearted jab with each other as Ole Miss takes on LSU this Saturday:

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Lane Kiffin, Brian Kelly Coke banter battle

The preseason banter between the two SEC coaches started with Kiffin analyzing a bottle of Coke during a news conference at the podium inside Ole Miss' practice facility. One of Ole Miss' sponsors is Coca-Cola, which is why Kiffin had a bottle of Coke and Dasani water on the podium.

"Does anybody drink Coke? You realize that 130% of your sugar for the entire day is in this one bottle," Kiffin said. "... 65 grams of sugar."

When asked by a reporter when the last time he had taken a sip of Coke, Kiffin said "a long time."

Two days later, at his own news conference leading into the season opener, Kelly opened up a news conference by raving about Coke products while drinking a bottle of Smartwater. Like Ole Miss, LSU has a sponsorship with Coca-Cola.

"Just a shoutout to sponsor Coke. You know Smartwater, a great Coke product. Minerals. Vitamins. It's just great for you," Kelly said. "It's refreshing. Healthy. Coke provides you with all the products that you need depending on what you like, and I love Smartwater."

But Kiffin looked to have had the last word, as he went on X (formerly Twitter) following LSU's season-opener loss to USC and quote tweeted a tweet that included Kelly furious and slamming the table during his postgame news conference.

"Maybe you just need a @CokeZero and a (Smiling Emoji) @CoachBrianKelly #LoveCoke," Kiffin said on X.

Since Kelly was hired at LSU following the 2021 season, Kiffin and Kelly are 1-1 against each other in the Magnolia Bowl rivalry series. Each of their wins came when at home.

The Rebels and Tigers will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday from Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss-LSU: Revisiting Lane Kiffin, Brian Kelly's early-season Coke banter