Ole Miss Football Preview 2026: Can Pete Golding Prove the Rebels Don't Need Lane Kiffin?
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Ole Miss and Pete Golding already proved that they can succeed without Lane Kiffin. Now it's time for everyone to move forward.
(At least until September 19th, when Kiffin and LSU come to Ole Miss in a cheeky SEC opener.)
Can Ole Miss Stay a College Football Playoff Contender Without Lane Kiffin?
© Amber Searls-Imagn Images
Golding was working with Kiffin's team in the College Football Playoff – for those who don't know or remember, Kiffin accepted the LSU job at the end of the regular season and didn't coach the team in the CFP.
But it's his team now.
There is still plenty of talent around – starting with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy – but there's enough portal talent and rebuilding to do to make this all about Golding. And he has an impossible standard to live up to.
Four seasons with ten or more wins in the last five years with 32 victories over the last three. Great offenses, giant victories, epic shootouts, and the Lane Kiffin brand and identity – this is a pivot.
Keep on winning, and then it becomes about Ole Miss as a high-powered football school.
– 2026 Ole Miss Schedule Analysis
Ole Miss Quick Hits
- Head Coach: Pete Golding (1st year, 2-1)
- Best Case / Worst Case: Get back to the College Football Playoff/Become an SEC also-ran fighting to get to seven or eight wins
- Key Player: Suntarine Perkins, EDGE Sr.
- 2025 Record: 13-2
- Biggest Question: Can the offense continue to be devastating in a post-Lane Kiffin era?
Ole Miss Key 2025 Stats
- Total Offense: Ole Miss 7,345 yards, Opponents 5,220 yards
- Sacks: Ole Miss 33 for 205 yards, Opponents 19 for 98 yards
- 1st Quarter Scoring: Ole Miss 119, Opponents 58
Offense
How do you replace everything Kiffin brought to the Ole Miss offense?
Four of the top five scoring seasons in 120 years of Rebel football – 2015 was the outlier – came in the last four seasons.
Everything clicked for the nation's No. 2 offense – North Texas was the only one that did more – and now it's up to former East Carolina offensive coordinator John David Baker to take over and keep it all moving.
What’s Working
The superstars in the backfield are back. Who has a better combination of quarterback-running back in college football?
Kewan Lacy is back after running for 1,567 yards and 24 scores, and Trinidad Chambliss got his extra season, and now one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in America should be even more dangerous.
Making a great situation better are the backups – quarterback Deuce Knight (Auburn) and running back Makhi Frazier (Michigan State) have the talent to be every bit as good if they get a shot.
The offensive line is in place to let the stars shine. The tackles have to be replaced – Jayden Williams and Diego Pounds are finished – but Terez Davis should be a keeper on the left side, and the interior of Delano Townsend and Patrick Kutas at guards, and Brycen Sanders at center, is rock solid.
It's a high bar, but Ole Miss was able to hit it on a regular basis. The Rebels threw for over 300 yards ten times, and won all ten times. Chambliss has the ability to bomb away against anyone, but …
What Needs Work
The Rebels need new receivers. Deuce Alexander is back after finishing third on the team with 44 catches for 684 yards – and averaging 15.5 yards per grab – but the combination of Harrison Wallace III and De'Zhaun Stribling is gone after combining for 116 grabs for over 1,700 yards and ten scores.
Okay, let's just go there. Ole Miss was special for a reason.
Can the attack really have the same magic with Kiffin and former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. gone to LSU?
It was a style and a system that had a bit of a high-wire aspect – it was unique, along with being ultra-productive. The style and points came from a lightning-fast style that worked under Kiffin, but is hard to replicate because …
Any dip might be costly. By most normal standards, coming up with 351 and 398 yards of total offense is fine, but those were the two worst offensive days of the season, and those were the two losses.
It's helped by going really, really fast – at least it did – and there were issues taxing the defense when the time of possession was skewed the wrong way.
Player to Watch
Darrell Gill Jr., WR Sr.
Ole Miss lost a few big-time receivers, but getting Johntay Cook from Syracuse was good, and landing his teammate Darrell Gill Jr. was even better.
The latter is a big-time deep threat, averaging over 16 yards per grab in his three years, catching 70 passes for 1,136 yards and eight scores in his time with the Orange.
© Amber Searls-Imagn Images
Defense
Can the defense get a little more love?
For a few years under Lane Kiffin, the defense was along for the ride while the offense did the driving.
In 2024, the defense stepped up in a big way under current head man Pete Golding, and while last year's bunch wasn't quite as good, it held its own when it absolutely had to in several massive showdowns.
Defensive coordinator Bryan Brown has some reworking to do, but under Golding, this side of the ball will never be ignored.
What’s Working
Here come the transfers at linebacker. There were some huge losses through the portal, but plenty of players wanted to come to Oxford to be a part of the rebuild.
It starts with the linebackers. Keaton Thomas (Baylor), Luke Ferrelli (Cal), and Tah'j Butler (Georgia Tech) are three big-time signings with a ton of upside around disruptive force Suntarine Perkins at the hybrid Buck spot.
The secondary got the stars. The Rebels already had former Auburn corner Antonio Kite in place coming off a 34-tackle season with five broken up passes. Now they have Jalyn Crawford, another former AU Tiger who was among the best corner transfers in the portal.
Even better, landing Edwin Joseph (Florida State), Sharif Denson (Florida), and Joenel Aguero (Georgia) loaded up the safety situation.
The pass rush will once again be amazing. Losing Princewell Umanmielen to LSU hurts – he led the team with nine sacks -but William Echols can get to the quarterback from the inside, Kam Franklin can get there from the outside, and the defense should bring the pressure.
What Needs Work
The pass defense has to be just as effective with all the new parts. Overall, Ole Miss allowed just under 200 yards per game, but the real key was keeping all the great quarterbacks on the schedule from getting hot – and that will be the same this year.
Just five teams in 15 games were able to complete 60% of their passes. Two of them were the losses – Gunner Stockton went off in Georgia's regular season win, and Carson Beck hit 62% in Miami's CFP win – but everyone else struggled with their accuracy.
The lost linebackers really were good. The staff did a great job of restocking the shelves at linebacker, but TJ Dudley, Jaden Yates, Princewell Umanmielen, Tahj Chambers, and Andrew Jones are a massive loss of production both against the run and as pass rushers.
And, like the linebackers, the staff found new great safeties, but it's hard to get better after losing the 164 tackles, four picks, and 20 broken up passes of Wydett Williams, Kapena Gushiken, Sage Ryan, and TJ Banks.
Player to Watch
Suntarine Perkins, EDGE Sr.
With so many new Rebels coming in, keeping around a superstar pass rusher like Perkins matters.
Great from the start three years ago, he made 179 tackles, 18.5 sacks, and 32 tackles for loss so far. He became even more disruptive in pass coverage and at forcing fumbles last season.
Keys to the Season
- Don't get hung up on anything Lane Kiffin, and move forward with a team good enough to be dangerous.
- Keep the production going from an offensive front that was among the best in the country in pass protection.
- Do a little bit more to control the clock.
Player Who Needs To Shine
Deuce Alexander, WR Jr.
He was the team's third-best receiver last year, and now he has to do even more on the outside as the most experienced returning target.
He averaged 15.6 yards per catch, but he was more steady than sensational – he only caught two touchdown passes and didn't hit 100 yards.
Biggest Concern
The defense has to stay off the field.
The offense will be more than fine when it comes to keeping up the pace, but the defense can't get marched on against the big teams.
Opposing first downs matter more for Ole Miss than it does for most thanks to the time of possession issues. Who had the best days at cranking up first downs against the Rebel bunch?
Georgia, with 34 first downs in the win in the regular season 43-35 thriller, and Miami with 28 in the College Football Playoff semifinal win. The other was Arkansas with 29 in the 41-35 Ole Miss close call.
Biggest Game
LSU, September 19
Forget the importance of all the other big games in the Ole Miss season. It's the SEC opener against a loaded team with national title dreams, and it comes before going to Florida and Vanderbilt.
Oh yeah, and Lane Kiffin is returning to deal with his former program.
Transfer Portal
The Rebels almost always rocked the transfer portal when Kiffin was in charge, and that didn't stop with the new coaching staff.
There weren't that many defections over to LSU, and Ole Miss managed to win the talent battles time and again to restock the shelves.
The defensive back seven loaded up, the receiving corps cranked it up, and the talent level across the board isn't an issue.
Best Signing
Deuce Knight, QB (Auburn)
There are other great signings who'll make more of an immediate impact, but landing Knight gives the program its superstar for the near future – as well as a great backup in case something happens to Trinidad Chambliss.
Knight was supposed to be a super-recruit for Notre Dame, he ended up at Auburn, and in a little bit of time, he showed his incredible upside.
Biggest Loss
Princewell Umanmielen, EDGE (LSU)
Kiffin didn't take too many players with him to LSU, but this one stings.
Just okay in his first two seasons at Nebraska, he came over to Ole Miss and turned into a destructive force with 44 tackles, nine sacks, and 13 tackles for loss.
Other Names to Know
- Keaton Thomas, LB (Baylor)
- Jehiem Oatis, OT (Colorado)
- Makhi Frazier, RB (Michigan State)
CFN Season Prediction
The motivation isn't a problem, and the talent is there to keep all the explosion and production going on both sides of the ball, but even a little bit of a slip will matter.
CFN Prediction: 8-4
Ole Miss got to the College Football Playoff semifinals – there's no slighting anything the team did in a magical season.
However, it missed Alabama, Texas, and Vanderbilt, and beat Florida and LSU teams that weren't nearly as good as they'll be this year.
It got a bit lost that Ole Miss won six games by one score, and seven of the 11 regular season wins were against teams that finished with five losses or fewer.
It doesn't matter how good you are, playing at Texas and at Oklahoma is tough enough, and dealing with Georgia, LSU, Missouri, at Florida, and against Louisville to open the season is too much of a problem.
This year's schedule is way harder, and even Lane Kiffin himself would've had a problem getting close to ten wins with it.
Related: Ole Miss 2026 Football Schedule Breakdown and Analysis
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