Lane Kiffin rubs salt in Mississippi State's gapping wound to further fuel rivalry

Saturday did not go well for Mississippi State football. The Bulldogs got blown out at home by No. 5 Georgia 41-21, and it wasn't even that close. UGA outclassed State on both sides of the ball. And apparently that result caught the attention of another coach in the state of Mississippi...

During his halftime interview from Ole Miss' win over Citadel, Lane Kiffin was asked about "excitement." Lane responded, "Excited Georgia is boat-racing Mississippi State. Oh, our game? We're playing well."

Lane can never pass up an opportunity to troll, and if his goal was to make Mississippi State fans even madder following today's loss while firing up his own fanbase, he succeeded.

But it's still quite hypocritical to see comments like that from a Rebel coach be celebrated...

Ole Miss can stop pretending they don't care about the Egg Bowl just as much as Mississippi State

Dan Mullen spent years taking digs at Ole Miss, calling them "The School Up North" and regularly stressing the rivalry's importance to his team. And all throughout his tenure, Ole Miss fans would whine about how Mullen was making the rivalry "toxic" by taking his shots and putting so much emphasis on it.

You'd also be hard-pressed to find an Ole Miss fan who hasn't at some point claimed that Mississippi State fans are obsessed with them and put far more importance in the rivalry than they do. They'll frequently suggest the Egg Bowl is just another game to them and that they couldn't care less about State outside of the game.

But then you have the head coach of their team, literally in the middle of a game, making it known that 1. he's actively keeping up with how Mississippi State is doing and 2. taking an unprompted public shot at them.

I don't know what you can call that other than "obsession." You've got the No. 6 team in the country, and you're paying attention to your rebuilding rival? That's pretty pathetic. But of course when their side acts like that, they love it. The hypocrisy of the Ole Miss fanbase never ceases to amaze.

Also, does Lane not understand that Georgia beating Mississippi State only increases the chances of Ole Miss not making it to the SEC Championship Game? The Rebels lost to Georgia. If they want to jump them in the standings, they need UGA to take at least one more loss. Rivalry aside, it seems counterintuitive to be celebrating a UGA win. Who cares about technicalities when you can take a shot at the rivals, I suppose.

Unfortunately though, he can get away with all the trash talk he wants as long as his team is winning. Ole Miss is almost certainly playoff-bound, and they've won two-straight and four of five overall against Mississippi State. Whether or not their fans can admit they're just as invested in the Egg Bowl as State fans are, they've currently got the upper-hand. If State wants to shut Kiffin up, they'll have to do it on the field Black Friday.