LSU-Ole Miss to draw Mississippi’s largest ever security presence for college football game

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety (MDPS) announced Wednesday that the security force it will deploy for LSU’s matchup with Ole Miss will be the “largest presence” of officers it’s ever assigned to a college football game day. The department said that roughly 65-70 state troopers and commercial transportation officers are expected to be deployed in and around the Ole Miss campus in the lead-up to the game, which is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. Mississippi Highway Patrol is also activating its special operations group, air command and mobile command center for the matchup, and troopers will begin “enhanced traffic enforcement details” on Thursday. This enhanced presence is about being prepared, staying proactive and working together.” The LSU-Ole Miss game is arguably the most anticipated matchup of the college football season, in large part because coach Lane Kiffin is making his first return trip to Oxford, Mississippi, since he left the Rebels ahead of their College Football Playoff run in November.

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Scoop News Deskis making his first return trip to Oxford, Mississippi · Published Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 10:30 PM UTCUpdated Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 10:23 PM UTC

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That number of state troopers is roughly three times larger than the size of the force that the state typically deploys for Ole Miss game days, an MDPS spokesperson said Wednesday. "This weekend will bring a significant number of visitors to Oxford,” commissioner Sean Tindell said in a statement, “and our priority is making sure everyone can enjoy the game and surrounding events safely.