Lane Kiffin has coached against Jeff Tedford before (back in the 2005-06 seasons in the post-Norm Chow era), but this’ll be the first time the two will go at each other as head coaches. Despite the relative acrimony surrounding Kiffin and his checkered coaching career, Tedford had nothing but good things to say about his pupil.
“He definitely moved up the ladder, but it’s been earned,” Tedford said. “He’s been a student of the game for a long time and did a great job at SC when he was the coordinator. Typical of any coach in the profession, with success comes elevation. He’s been able to do that.”
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“I would definitely consider him a mentor,” Kiffin said. “I spent a lot of time with him. I was very fortunate to be in the meeting rooms with him all the time. I learned a ton from him before I ever got started in coaching, then he gave me a great opportunity to be able to sit next to him.”
Will the student or the master get the better of this matchup? Both teams are on the precipice of being eliminated from the Pac-10 title race.