2026 Vanderbilt Football Early Opponent Preview, Game 6: Ole Miss
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When Vanderbilt’s 2026 schedule was first revealed, its conference home opener against Ole Miss did not look as daunting.
But in mid-February, Ole Miss’ star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was granted a temporary injunction. Now, Chambliss is allowed to play the 2026 college football season. It is a decision that impacts not only the outlook of Vanderbilt’s matchup against the Rebels this season, but it changes how Ole Miss’ 2026 season can turn out.
Regardless, the Commodores do have the opportunity to host a difficult opponent and a chance to come away with a big time win against a team that more than likely will be ranked coming into the mid-October meeting in Nashville.
It’ll be Vanderbilt’s SEC home opener in 2026 and the Commodores will be looking to make a statement in FirstBank Stadium.
Here is a breakdown and the game information for Vanderbilt’s first home conference opponent of the 2026 season.
Offense
Ole Miss’ offense was the second-best offense in all of college football last season. Averaging 36.9 points per game and nearly 490 yards per game, it could not have done much better. It was as close to a perfect SEC offense that a team can get seemingly.
The main man on the Rebels’ offense remains the same. Due to the injunction that was granted to Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss will have its NFL-caliber quarterback at the helm for one more season. The question is who exactly he will be throwing to.
Ole Miss was very talented at the wide receiver position a season ago. But four of its top five pass catchers in 2025 are no longer on the team. There is no more Harrison Wallace III, De’Zhaun Stribling, Cayden Lee or Dae’Quan Wright in Oxford anymore, but there is still Deuce Alexander.
And predictably, head coach Pete Golding went out to search for new receivers in the transfer portal. Ole Miss added former Auburn wide receiver Horatio Fields, Syracuse wide receiver Darrell Gill and Kentucky wide receiver Cameron Miller. The program also welcomes four-star wide receiver Jase Matthews.
With the amount of losses on the outside, one or multiple pass catchers will need to step up and be viable for Chambliss to throw to. Chambliss has the arm talent to make the guys around him better as well, which is expected to happen to some extent this fall.
Another bonus for Ole Miss is the return of star running back Kewan Lacy. A season ago, Lacy had 1,567 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. The run game for Ole Miss should not be something to be concerned about this season.
Defense
This needs to be the area that Golding and his team has to improve on the most. Ole Miss was the No. 49 team in the country in total defense last season. While that is not terrible, it will not cut it for the Rebels to win the SEC this season.
Ole Miss has just five returning starters on defense. That is not particularly desirable, especially for a team that needs to show more defensively this season.
In the transfer portal, Ole Miss went out and got EDGE rusher Blake Purchase from Oregon, defensive lineman Jordan Renaud from Alabama, safety Joenel Aguero from Georgia, Baylor linebacker Keaton Thomas and former Florida State safety Edwin Joseph.
Coming out of Ole Miss’ spring period, Aguero and Joseph were two guys that were mentioned as defenders that will have to make big contributions if Ole Miss is to take its defense to another level in 2026.
Schedule
Ole Miss takes on Louisville in a neutral site game in Nissan Stadium in Nashville to begin the season. It will be one of two trips it takes to Nashville this fall. The other one will be Oct. 10 when Vanderbilt and Ole Miss meet.
Ole Miss has two home games and two road games back-to-back before trading home and road games for nearly the rest of the season. In addition to Vanderbilt, Ole Miss also has to travel to Florida, Texas and Oklahoma before finishing the season with home games against Wofford and Mississippi State
Outlook
This is going to be a very intriguing season to watch Ole Miss. After Lane Kiffin left for LSU, nobody would have imagined Ole Miss would go on a run to the national semifinals of the College Football Playoff last season, but it happened.
It helps that Ole Miss has Trinidad Chambliss back for this season. Ole Miss could contend for a SEC title, but it is not among the biggest contenders. The Rebels are a team that could win around eight or nine games if Chambliss plays the way he did a season ago. The Rebels probably will not be in the first tier of SEC that are playoff contenders, but they can certainly find a spot in one of the best bowls.
The Game
Date: Oct. 10
Time: FLEX (Afternoon or night kickoff time)
TV: TBD
Location: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Series history: Ole Miss leads 54-40-2
Last meeting: Ole Miss beat Vanderbilt 33-7 in 2023.
The Team
Coach: Pete Golding, first full season as head coach (was interim at the end of 2025 season)
Offensive coordinator: John David Baker
Defensive coordinator: Bryan Brown
2025 record: 13-2 (7-1 SEC)
2025 rankings: 2nd in total offense, 48th in total defense
Top Newcomer: Edwin Joseph, safety transfer from Florida State
Biggest Question: It is Pete Golding’s first full season as Ole Miss’ head coach. Can he continue the momentum and magic the Rebels built at the end of last season and take it into this season?
The School
Location: Oxford, Mississippi
Founded: 1844
Enrollment: 28,405 total students
Nickname: Rebel
Colors: Navy, red and white
Mascot: Tony the Landshark
The Program
Last win in series: Ole Miss beat Vanderbilt 33-7 in 2023
FBS championships: Three claimed national championships (1959, 1960 and 1962)
FBS Playoff Appearances: One (2025)
The Schedule
September 6: vs. Louisville (in Nashville)
September 12: vs. Charlotte
September 19: vs. LSU
September 26: at Florida
October 10: at Vanderbilt
October 17: vs. Missouri
October 24: at Texas
October 31: vs. Auburn
November 7: vs. Georgia
November 14: at Oklahoma
November 21: vs. Wofford
November 28: vs. Mississippi State
This is the sixth story in Vanderbilt on SI's early preview series of all 12 regular-season opponents for Vanderbilt football in 2026
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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