Excitement is already building around Ole Miss as the 2026 season gets closer, and there are plenty of reasons for Rebels fans to keep their eyes on the fall.
New head coach Pete Golding will be trying to show he can keep Ole Miss in the SEC’s top tier. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, meanwhile, will have his own chance to make a statement and prove he can be the best quarterback in the country no matter who is calling the shots.
But if you’re talking about what really gets this fan base fired up, it comes down to hate. Ole Miss has no shortage of rivals, and the upcoming schedule will give the Rebels plenty of chances to settle old scores in another brutal SEC slate. Still, one name stands above the rest when it comes to the coach Rebels fans love to hate the most.
Lane Kiffin is going to be public enemy number one for a long time for the fans in Oxford. He spent six seasons as Ole Miss head coach, the longest stop of his college football head coaching career, but it’s not the departure itself that has fueled the anger. It’s when he left.
Kiffin walked away just as Ole Miss was getting ready for its first College Football Playoff appearance, taking the LSU Tigers job instead. That move stung even more because he went to an SEC rival with a long history against the Rebels.
That sets up a showdown early in the season, with Ole Miss and LSU scheduled to meet in Week 3. For Rebels fans, the chance to beat Kiffin would make the whole thing even sweeter, and that opportunity arrives on September 19th.
It has all the makings of the most anticipated game on the 2026 college football schedule.
In Other News...
Ole Miss May Have A Hidden Portal Piece Fans Are Overlooking
With Lane Kiffin gone and Pete Golding now leading the program, Ole Miss is still sorting out what its offense will look like in the next phase, but the Rebels may already have a transfer addition who fits neatly into the picture. Running back Makhi Frazier arrived from Michigan State with some real production on his rsum, and he gives the backfield another layer behind Kewan Lacy as the staff pieces together its plans for the upcoming season.
Frazier is expected to work in a backup role, which can sometimes hide a player in plain sight until the season starts and the matchups change. If defenses spend their attention on Lacy and Trinidad Chambliss, there should be room for someone like Frazier to turn limited touches into meaningful snaps, and that is the kind of depth piece that can matter more than fans realize by the time the schedule gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
PFF Just Put A Mizzou Star In Rare Company Amid Uneasy Buzz
Pro Football Focus latest top-50 college football list for the 2026 season put a familiar SEC running back in a very select spot, with Mizzous Ahmad Hardy landing at No. 6 overall and as the conferences highest-ranked player. The top 10 was heavy on league talent, too, with Texas quarterback Arch Manning at No. 9 and Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy right behind him at No. 10 after his breakout year in Oxford.
For Ole Miss, Lacys placement is another reminder that the Rebels have real star power in the backfield even as the national conversation tilts toward bigger-name quarterbacks and headline programs. PFFs list only reinforces how much attention Lacy drew last season, and it sets up a fall in which Ole Miss will be expected to lean on him again while the rest of the SEC tries to catch up. [Read more 🡒]
This Overlooked Ole Miss Coach Could Decide Whether The Offense Stays Elite
Ole Miss has spent the offseason sorting through the ripple effects of a coaching shakeup, and one of the quieter hires may end up carrying the most weight. John David Baker is in as the new offensive coordinator for 2026, giving Pete Goldings staff a familiar name to help keep the Rebels attack on track after a period of transition. With Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy still in the fold, the ingredients are there for the offense to remain one of the SECs most dangerous units.
Bakers appeal goes beyond the title on his business card. He already knows the program well from his previous time on staff, and that kind of continuity matters when a team is trying to stay elite rather than simply rebuild. The bigger question is how quickly he can make the offense his own while preserving the tempo and production Ole Miss has come to expect, especially with another run at the College Football Playoff in view. [Read more 🡒]