Pete Golding isn’t pretending LSU won’t be a massive date on the Ole Miss calendar. He just isn’t letting it become the whole conversation.
At SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida, the first-time Ole Miss head coach kept landing in the spotlight, and his answers kept cutting through the noise. With Lane Kiffin’s name still hanging over the program and LSU set to visit Oxford in week three on September 19th, Golding was asked the question everyone wanted answered: how do you keep from looking ahead?
His answer leaned on the kind of blunt honesty that has made him stand out this week. Per Jim Dunaway on X, Golding called Kiffin the ex that's always going to get brought up. Then he made the point that Ole Miss can’t afford to get lost in the hype around one game when the season demands attention every Saturday.
"Your focus better be on LSU week three, and if your focus isn't on Kentucky at home and you lose the game in order to go to the playoffs, or if your focus isn't on Florida on the road, you have to put your focus week in and week out in this league."
That wasn’t just a throwaway line. Golding was pointing straight back at the 2024 losses that ended Ole Miss’ College Football Playoff push. The Rebels fell 20-17 to Kentucky in week five and later dropped a 24-17 decision at Florida, defeats that kept them out of the CFP.
Golding circled back to the same theme after that, making it clear that the job is to stay locked on the next opponent rather than the next headline.
"It allows us as coaches and players to put our focus on what matters and that's the next opponent. But LSU will get our undivided attention in week three and they'll deserve every bit of it."
Ole Miss won’t get much breathing room after that, either. The Rebels still have Georgia coming to Oxford in November, along with road trips to Texas on Oct. 24 and Oklahoma on Nov. 14.
If Ole Miss is going to get back into the CFP mix, Golding’s message is the one that has to stick: handle the week in front of you, then move on to the next. With an experienced roster led by Trinidad Chambliss, that approach should be the standard.
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Pete Golding Just Sent Ole Miss Fans A Telling Message
Pete Golding has been settling into his role as Ole Miss head coach in more ways than one. After being promoted when Lane Kiffin left for LSU in November 2025, Golding has already made himself at home in Oxford, including buying one of Kiffins former houses. It is the kind of detail that says plenty about how quickly the program has moved into a new era, even after Ole Miss kept winning through the postseason and reached the Fiesta Bowl.
Golding also has been visible away from the football facility, recently showing up at a fan event in Memphis with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and offensive lineman Patrick Kutas. For a coach still putting his own stamp on the job, those small public moments matter, especially in a place where the fan base is watching closely to see how the transition feels and how much of the old identity carries over. The house purchase may have been the most eye-catching part, but the broader message is that Golding is not treating this like a temporary stop. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fixed A Lot This Offseason But One Concern Still Lingers
Ole Miss spent the offseason trying to make the roster sturdier for 2026, leaning on the transfer portal to add bodies and balance across the depth chart. Pete Goldings staff wanted more players who could step into starting roles or at least handle meaningful rotation work, a move designed to keep the same core names from carrying so much of the load again.
Even with those fixes in place, one part of the offense still feels unsettled heading into tougher competition. The Rebels have enough proven pieces elsewhere to feel better about their overall depth, but the wide receiver group remains the spot where the most questions linger, and how quickly the new faces settle in could shape how far this team can go. [Read more 🡒]