What's On The Line For Ole Miss, Pete Golding in 2026?

It's been a while, but I'm happy to be back.

My journalism journey has carried me into the realm of education over the last year-plus, but when Matt Galatzan reached out to me about once again doing a weekly column over at Ole Miss On SI, I couldn't say no. After all, there are plenty of storylines to follow with the Rebels as the calendar inches toward summer.

For starters, the spotlight is now squarely on Pete Golding.

The new Rebels football coach took over the program in November of last year after the controversial departure of Lane Kiffin to Baton Rouge, but that didn't deter the former Nick Saban defensive disciple from winning two College Football Playoff games and capping off the best Ole Miss football season in modern history. Even with this boost in resume, however, Golding's tenure will forever be graded on the years ahead, not on what he did with a team he inherited to conclude 2025.

Ole Miss, Pete Golding's Litmus Test Begins in 2026 Following Historic College Football Playoff Run

Say what you want about the conclusion to Kiffin's tenure in Oxford; he still is the most successful Ole Miss football coach in modern memory. Golding has big shoes to fill this fall. It helps, of course, that Golding has done something that Kiffin never did in winning College Football Playoff games, but now, the buck fully stops at Pete's desk. Program organization is his responsibility. Team morale, roster construction, it all falls back on Golding.

That's not to say that this is an impossible climb for the first-time head coach. Golding received a massive boost when quarterback Trinidad Chambliss won his legal battle and was awarded another year of NCAA eligibility. He earned another feather in his cap by retaining star running back Kewan Lacy who, if you asked the right people, seemed like a good fit to follow Kiffin and running backs coach Kevin Smith to LSU this offseason.

Games may not be won and lost in courtrooms and NIL bidding wars, but winning on those fronts is a good start. Pair that with a revamped defensive roster, and Ole Miss looks the part of a preseason-top-10 team in 2026, if the AP voters don't penalize the Rebels too much for the relative unknown that is now occupying the head coaching role in Golding.

Vegas is already airing on the side of caution, however. Ole Miss finished 13-2 a season ago and returns its quarterback and running back off of that roster, but the over/under win total for the Rebels is set at just 7.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That doesn't mean that's where Ole Miss will finish, of course, but it does mean that Golding (and some of his new pieces) are still a bit of a question mark here in the offseason.

So what's on the line for Ole Miss in 2026? Honestly, a lot. A return to the CFP would mean that perhaps Golding is the guy who can lead this program forward and keep momentum moving in a positive direction. A regression, and suddenly, very different conversations are happening in Oxford, a place that has become spoiled with football success in the last six years.

Don't tell Pete that, however. If you look too much at the macro, you'll miss the small steps that have to happen to make the macro...well...achievable. Ole Miss' litmus test begins in Week 1 with a game against a dangerous Louisville team at a neutral site, and while the Rebels will be favored, it's one you have to win if you're going to start this campaign off on the right foot and push toward a second straight College Football Playoff berth.

"My biggest thing to them is 'Stop focusing on the wrong [expletive]," Golding said in a recent press conference. "When we start worrying about the LSU game that everybody's talking about, you better worry about Louisville, and you better worry about what you're doing right now in the development of every day and what you're putting into it."

The LSU game (and all the others on the schedule) will come in due time. For now, Ole Miss' focus has to be on taking the little steps necessary to remain a championship contender in 2026, and it has a real "football guy" at the helm who has enjoyed some early positive returns in his Rebels tenure.

If those positive returns continue this fall, Golding is in good shape. If they falter, the word will be that he's the "guy who couldn't follow the guy" at Ole Miss. What happens next is ultimately up to him and his staff.

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