Ole Miss enters the new season with plenty of change around the program, but the clearest reason for optimism still sits under center.
The Rebels are coming off a historic run to the College Football Playoff semifinal, and that trip came with some major turnover. Lane Kiffin left for LSU before Ole Miss even started its CFP journey, and Pete Golding stepped in as the new head coach after earning the trust of the players and the university.
Golding’s background is on the defensive side, which naturally raises the question of how much the offense will shift without Kiffin’s play-calling. But the answer may be simpler than it looks: Trinidad Chambliss changes everything.
Chambliss was the heartbeat of the Rebels’ attack last season, and there’s no reason to think that changes now. Kiffin deserves credit for how he deployed him, but Golding also showed during the CFP run that he could keep Chambliss productive and dangerous.
The numbers tell the story. Chambliss led the SEC with 3,937 passing yards, which ranked third in college football.
He added 22 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. And those totals are even more impressive when you remember he didn’t make his first start of the season until the third game, against Arkansas.
That kind of production has him entering the year with serious hardware expectations. Chambliss finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting last season, and now the bar is higher: he’s expected to be in New York City as one of the finalists, with a real shot at winning it.
Golding has also put John David Baker in charge of the offense in 2026, and Chambliss recently said their relationship suggests the system won’t look all that different this season.
And it’s not just Chambliss. Ole Miss also has Kewan Lacy, who is arguably the best running back in the country. Put that together, and the Rebels have every reason to believe last year’s firepower can carry over.
If this offense doesn’t come close to matching what it did a year ago, something will have gone seriously wrong. On paper, Ole Miss looks built to be the most electrifying offense in the country.
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