Ole Miss Football and Ohio State Buckeyes Sit in Unique Position Ahead of 2026 Season

In what has quickly emerged as a pivotal offseason for Pete Golding and the Ole Miss Rebels, the program remains in headlines after reconstructing the roster from the ground up across the last two months.

Once Lane Kiffin made his move to join the LSU Tigers on Nov. 30, officials in Oxford quickly pivoted to Golding as the Rebels' new full-time shot-caller where he's quickly answered the call.

Golding led the Rebels to a pair of College Football Playoff wins while assembling the No. 2 rated Transfer Portal Class in America this offseason with Ole Miss remaining a hot topic.

"The locker room is so fragile, as we all know," Walker Jones, the executive director of the Grove Collective, said to ESPN. "This is the ultimate team sport, and there's no bigger team sport than football [with] so many personalities, so many moving parts.

"You had to hire the guy that can keep the locker room and the coaching staff in sync. It was such a unique situation, first of its kind. There's no blueprint for it."

Along with a star-studded portal class, All-American running back Kewan Lacy will be back in 2026 with a newfound energy in the Magnolia State after reloading the roster once again.

Lacy was one of the best rushers in the nation all season long for the 13-2 Rebels - holding a season line of 306 attempts for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns.

“You see what Kewan is made of, what this team is made of,” Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro told On3 Sports following the season-ending loss to Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“It’s the reason so many guys are going to be back next year. We’re going to build on this.”

But the 2026 season will be one that will be a rollercoaster for the program with a daunting schedule ahead for the Ole Miss Rebels.

NEW: Hardest 2026 College Football Schedules via @CrainAndCone👀

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— On3 (@On3) February 10, 2026

The 2026 Ole Miss Schedule: Louisville (neutral), Charlotte, LSU, at Florida, at Vanderbilt, Missouri, at Texas, Auburn, Georgia, at Oklahoma, Wofford, Mississippi State.

According to On3 Sports, Ole Miss will have the seventh toughest schedule in America heading into the 2026 season - sitting behind Ohio State, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Auburn, and Michigan.

Golding will have his work cut out for him, but after assembling the No. 2 rated Transfer Portal Class in America along with retaining critical components from the 2025 roster, Ole Miss sits in strong position heading into the season.

More Ole Miss News:

Ole Miss Football Pulls Off Historic Recruiting Feat After Landing No. 2 Portal Class

Ole Miss Football Recruiting Notebook: Three Targets Pete Golding Must Land in Year 1

'Growing Optimism' That Ole Miss Football QB Trinidad Chambliss Will Play in 2026

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Follow Zack Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and Ole Miss Rebels On SI: @OleMissOnSI for all coverage surrounding the Ole Miss program.