Ole Miss and LSU have always had the kind of SEC matchup that can tilt a season. But by the time the 2026 season rolls around, this one has become something sharper, messier, and far more personal.
The on-field part has stayed competitive. Since 2020, the Rebels and Tigers have played a string of tight, high-stakes games that have mattered in the SEC race. LSU has continued to recruit at a national-title level, while Ole Miss has chipped away at the gap under Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin’s arrival before the 2020 season changed the whole shape of the program. He brought in a new offensive approach, leaned on the transfer portal better than almost anyone, and stacked up multiple 10-win seasons.
Ole Miss stopped being viewed as a fun upset threat and started looking like a real problem for everybody in the league, LSU included. Under Kiffin, the Rebels became the SEC’s best offense.
The rivalry has only intensified because both programs keep crossing paths in recruiting. Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and the broader Southeast have all been battlegrounds, with Ole Miss going after players LSU had also targeted and the Tigers continuing to land top Mississippi prospects. The transfer portal only made that overlap more pronounced.
Then came the shock that changed everything.
After Ole Miss put together an historic 2025 regular season and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time, Kiffin accepted the LSU head coaching job. He resigned from an 11-1 Ole Miss team just days before the playoff, and Athletic Director Keith Carter did not allow him to coach the Rebels in the postseason.
For plenty of Ole Miss fans, it felt like a betrayal. Kiffin had repeatedly said he was committed to Oxford, which made the timing of the move hit even harder. The announcement that he was taking over at LSU landed while Ole Miss was preparing for its biggest game ever under interim coach Pete Golding.
Golding, though, may have been the perfect bridge into what comes next. Already regarded as one of college football’s top defensive assistants, he kept the roster together after Kiffin left, guided Ole Miss into the playoff, and then added some of the highest-rated transfer portal talent in the country.
He won two CFP games before Ole Miss fell short of a national championship appearance in a loss to Miami.
Now the setup is obvious. LSU gets Kiffin back in the rivalry, and he gets a chance to argue that his decision was the boldest move any SEC or NCAA program has seen. Ole Miss gets a chance to prove the success in Oxford belongs to more than one coach.
The next chapter arrives in 2026, when Kiffin and LSU come to Oxford on September 19.
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 🡒]