Lane Kiffin doesn’t believe Auburn’s stadium is ‘haunted’ | LSU

LSU coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t believe Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium is haunted.

But he’s been around a few people who do.

His former boss, ex-LSU and Alabama head coach Nick Saban, has said as much about the venue because so many extraordinary plays seem to tilt the balance of games there.

What could have been one of Kiffin’s colleagues at Auburn, men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, tried using Jordan-Hare’s spookiness to lure Kiffin when he was being considered as the school’s next football coach.

“He’s like, ‘Hey, you’ll get a win every year that you really don’t deserve,” recalled Kiffin, who ultimately stayed at Ole Miss for another three seasons, “because magical things just happen here. It’s haunted.’”

Kiffin hopes Auburn doesn’t win a game it doesn’t deserve this weekend.

He’s already seen LSU experience its share of rottenness on the road.

At Ole Miss, the magician Trinidad Chambliss made third-and-longs disappear, and the Rebels quarterback thwarted the Tigers’ second-half rally.

At Kentucky, LSU had a lead with under two minutes left, but the Wildcats tied in regulation and pulled ahead on a two-point conversion in overtime. Kiffin isn’t sure the latter should have happened because a Kentucky timeout negated a false start penalty.

Coaches with a more intangible way of thinking will say teams have to learn how to win, and LSU seems to have forgotten how to get over the top on the road with eight straight defeats away from Tiger Stadium. But Kiffin doesn’t buy that.

“The kick goes in, like I say, and then everybody’s like, ‘Y’all learned to win, man. Great resilience,’” Kiffin said. “It doesn’t go in and hits the upright, and then ‘You guys don’t know how to win on the road.’ So I think that’s probably a little bit overrated.”

Forget the woo-woo stuff, especially following two road losses by a combined nine points.

LSU just needs to execute better, in Kiffin’s opinion, which didn’t happen enough at Ole Miss and Kentucky in critical situations.

LSU (5-2, 2-2 SEC) just needs a win at Auburn, which could keep Kiffin’s squad in a wide-open College Football Playoff race as the SEC continues to beat up on itself. There have been challenges in LSU’s pursuit, both expected and unexpected.

Kiffin knew it would take time for a significantly overhauled offense to hit its stride, which he believes is starting to happen. LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt just had his best performance yet in a 31-0 win over Mississippi State, completing 31-of-38 passing for 289 yards and four touchdowns.

Kiffin also knew he’d assembled a “top-heavy” roster, sacrificing depth to pay elite transfer talents such as Leavitt and left tackle Jordan Seaton, hoping to compete right away.

What he didn’t anticipate was a stretch where both No. 7 jersey wearers, tight end Trey’Dez Green and linebacker Whit Weeks, would be out with injuries. Kiffin declined to comment on their status ahead of Auburn, but there has been hope Green could return after next week’s open date. Weeks hasn’t been ruled out to return at some point.

“We built the team to be able to play against anybody,” Kiffin said.

Auburn, unranked, proved last weekend it can beat anybody, taking down then-No. 1 Georgia on its home turf. Interestingly enough, an Auburn win is what Kiffin wanted to see.

Kiffin doesn’t believe in haunted stadiums, but he does believe in “relief syndrome,” an emotional letdown after a big win.

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to win this week and they’re going to lose,” Kiffin said. “But that’s a real thing. That’s a real challenge.”

Kiffin also knows college athletes spend too much time on social media.

“You start to be told how great you are when you have those wins,” Kiffin said. “I was rooting for them at the end of the game to win, knowing we were playing next week. Just because that makes it more challenging.”

Jordan-Hare Stadium, a stadium packed with nearly 90,000 fans, will be a challenge for LSU after visits to Ole Miss and Kentucky venues with just over 60,000 apiece.

There are no ghosts, despite Pearl’s suggestions to the contrary, but Kiffin would go as far as to call Auburn’s venue a “magical” place. He experienced enough Iron Bowls as an Alabama coordinator to respect its ferocity.

No exorcisms are required to win there, however.

Just another “e” word: execution.

“A lot of times on the road, as you break down your losses, and close losses, they’re usually not as much how many plays they make,” Kiffin said. “It’s more the mistakes you make. More penalties, more false starts and more turnovers than when you play at home.”