Ole Miss heads into 2026 with the kind of buzz that usually comes attached to playoff expectations, and the schedule does not exactly hand Pete Golding a soft landing. The Rebels are coming off a 13-2 season in 2025 that ended in the College Football Playoff semifinals, and they bring back quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy to drive the offense.
Ole Miss has already put out preseason Heisman Trophy campaigns for both players. On the other side of the ball, defensive lineman Will Echoles and linebacker Suntarine Perkins, the Chucky Mullins award winner, are back to anchor the defense.
The path is loaded. The SEC’s move to a nine-game league schedule means Ole Miss has an extra conference opponent to navigate, and five of its nine SEC foes - Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, LSU and Missouri - are ranked in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll. That sets up a season with very little margin for error, especially with a few headline games lined up early and late.
The opener comes Sept. 6 against Louisville at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, with a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff on ABC.
Louisville enters as the unranked team that received the most votes in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, and it also marks the first game for Ole Miss under new offensive coordinator John David Baker. Ohio State transfer quarterback Lincoln Kienholz is expected to make his first start for the Cardinals.
Prediction: Ole Miss 28, Louisville 23.
A week later, on Sept. 12, the Rebels host Charlotte at 6:45 p.m. CT in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The 49ers are coming off a 1-11 season in the American, which makes this the kind of game that can get labeled a trap without ever really looking like one. Even with LSU waiting in Week 3, Ole Miss is expected to handle business.
Prediction: Ole Miss wins comfortably.
Then comes the one everybody will circle. On Sept.
19, LSU comes to Oxford for what could be college football’s most anticipated regular-season game of 2026. Lane Kiffin’s return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is set to turn the night into a scene, with the home crowd expected to be loud enough to swing the game.
Prediction: Ole Miss 31, LSU 27.
The next road trip is no breather, either. Ole Miss heads to Florida on Sept. 26, with kickoff at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville set for either 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
CT or 5-7 p.m. CT.
Former Tulane coach Jon Sumrall, who was discussed as a possible Kiffin replacement at Ole Miss, will be on the other sideline. The game carries real danger, especially if the Rebels are riding high after the LSU game, and a win there would not come by much.
After an open date, Ole Miss visits Vanderbilt on Oct. 10 for a game at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. The Rebels last played there in 2022, when they won 52-28, but Vanderbilt has a different feel now and won’t be an easy out.
Even so, Ole Miss has enough offense to keep its winning streak against the Commodores rolling to six. Prediction: Ole Miss 38, Vanderbilt 20.
The middle of October brings Missouri to Oxford on Oct. 17, and this one has a built-in storyline. Austin Simmons returns to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as Missouri’s quarterback after starting for Ole Miss entering 2025 before Chambliss replaced him following an ankle injury in Week 2.
With Simmons and running back Ahmad Hardy, the Tigers have enough to push the Rebels. Prediction: Ole Miss 37, Missouri 34.
Then comes the first projected loss. Ole Miss travels to Texas on Oct. 24 for a game at Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium, with kickoff window listed for 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
CT or 5-7 p.m. CT.
The matchup should matter to the College Football Playoff committee and Heisman Trophy voters, since Chambliss and Texas quarterback Arch Manning are two of the three Heisman Trophy favorites entering the season. This is the spot where the undefeated run ends.
Prediction: Texas 28, Ole Miss 20.
Ole Miss returns home on Halloween for Auburn on Oct. 31, with kickoff between 11 a.m. CT and noon.
It’s the first year of the Alex Golesh era for Auburn, and quarterback Byrum Brown, a USF transfer, is expected to start after coming with his former coach. Brown brings dual-threat ability, and an early kickoff may be the Rebels’ best friend here.
A night game on Halloween would have felt like a classic upset setup.
On Nov. 7, Georgia comes to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for another heavyweight matchup with College Football Playoff implications.
Ole Miss split the 2025 series against the Bulldogs, losing in the regular season before winning the Sugar Bowl in the second round of the CFP. The prediction here leans Georgia’s way, with the reminder that beating that program twice in a row is a tall order.
Prediction: Georgia 28, Ole Miss 27.
The Rebels then head to Oklahoma on Nov. 14 for a rematch at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, with kickoff at either 2:30 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. CT.
Ole Miss played in Norman in 2025, and now the Sooners are one of its three annual opponents. Chambliss gets another crack at OU and quarterback John Mateer, and the game carries elimination-game weight because no three-loss team has made the CFP.
Prediction: Ole Miss 21, Oklahoma 17.
Wofford comes to Oxford on Nov. 21 for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff, and if Ole Miss reaches that point with only two losses, the nonconference game should be a welcome breather.
The Terriers are not expected to threaten the Rebels. Prediction: Ole Miss 42, Wofford 13.
The regular season closes with the Egg Bowl on Nov. 27 against Mississippi State at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, also at 11 a.m. CT.
Ole Miss is chasing a fourth straight win in the rivalry, which would be its longest Egg Bowl streak since four in a row from 1983-86. Mississippi State could have spoiler potential, but the forecast calls for a physical home win.
Prediction: Ole Miss 28, Mississippi State 20.
The final call has Ole Miss finishing 10-2 overall and 7-2 in SEC play, enough to reach the College Football Playoff but not enough for a first-round bye.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Is Fighting LSU For A QB Decision That Could Matter Big
The quarterback chase for Ole Miss has reached a familiar kind of finish line, with one of the sports more coveted passing prospects weighing a list that includes Oregon, LSU, Tennessee, Michigan, Florida and the Rebels. A commitment here would matter beyond the usual recruiting buzz, because adding a quarterback of this caliber would give Ole Miss a major early boost in its 2028 class and help keep momentum in a cycle where every elite signal-caller can tilt the picture for years.
LSU is in the mix as well, which gives this one added edge for Ole Miss fans who know how often the Rebels and Tigers end up circling the same targets. The decision is expected soon, and the next step will come through the Rivals YouTube Channel, leaving both programs waiting to see which staff lands the kind of quarterback choice that can reshape a class and ripple far beyond one recruiting weekend. [Read more 🡒]
PFFs SEC QB Ranking Gives Ole Miss Fans A Real Argument
Preseason quarterback rankings always invite debate, but this one gives Ole Miss fans an easy place to start. PFF put Auburn transfer Byrum Brown atop the SEC list with a 91.5 grade, even ahead of Trinidad Chambliss, whose run with the Rebels ended with a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinal and came against SEC competition.
The split is a reminder of how much these rankings lean on raw production and how little they can say about the context around it. Browns numbers were built at USF in the American Conference, while Chambliss did his work in the SEC, and that difference is exactly where the argument gets interesting for Ole Miss supporters who watched him carry the offense on a bigger stage. [Read more 🡒]
Kirk Herbstreit Just Put Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss In The Spotlight
Kirk Herbstreit has put a national spotlight on Trinidad Chambliss, and for Ole Miss, it is the kind of attention that follows a quarterback who has already traveled an unusual road. Chambliss started at Division II Ferris State, helped deliver a national championship there, then transferred to Oxford and took over as the Rebels starter after Austin Simmons was injured, turning a sudden opening into one of the seasons most compelling storylines.
What followed only strengthened the case for how far Chambliss has come. Ole Miss finished the regular season 11-1, won a College Football Playoff game and added a Sugar Bowl victory, and now the quarterback is set to return for one more season after a successful court case against the NCAA. Herbstreits remark only adds to the intrigue around what Chambliss might mean for the Rebels next, even if the conversation around his rise is still just beginning. [Read more 🡒]