Despite having head coach Pete Golding lead them in some games in the 2025 season, the Ole Miss Rebels are starting the 2026 season on a clean slate. Within the team, there is a known revenge mission against the LSU Tigers and head coach Lane Kiffin for abandoning them just before their College Football Playoff run. However, ESPN analyst Rece Davis does not see them having a very successful mission due to several reasons.

“The case against them: no Lane, no Charles Weis Jr.,” Rece Davis said in an August 18 video on ESPN College Football. “John David Baker, though he is from that tree, can’t recapture the same Trinidad magic. Golding can’t tap into the natural emotion that he had at Ole Miss last year after being jilted by Lane Kiffin. The offensive tackles aren’t good enough, the middle of the secondary takes a step back, and how do they respond after the LSU game? All of those things could work against Miss, but I think Miss has a great shot to be a playoff team again next year.”

Lane Kiffin was left to pick one of two decisions as the 2025 season came to a close: lead Ole Miss to the CFP and remain with the program afterwards or join the LSU Tigers and leave Ole Miss immediately. Kiffin chose the latter and has been one of the most criticized college football figures ever since. To make matters worse, Kiffin did not leave Ole Miss alone; he left with a good number of players and coaches.

Pete Golding may have thrived in the immediate aftermath of Kiffin’s exit, but that will not be a justifiable metric to judge his 2026. Kiffin’s departure created an emotional situation that Golding weaponized to stir the team and the fan base into a brilliant postseason run. His most remarkable victory was a 39-34 upset against the Georgia Bulldogs before narrowly losing to the Miami Hurricanes in the playoff semifinal.

Now, it is every man for himself, as the Kiffin narrative has run its course. The hatred might still be there, but so much has happened since Kiffin left, and the air has cooled. There has been a transfer portal, a recruiting class, two training camps, and a good number of months since what the Rebels perceive as a huge betrayal.

Offensive stars, like Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy, might be great players, but the influence of the 2025 coaching staff on them is undeniable. And with Kiffin leaving with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Charles Weis Jr., and several other coaches, Golding and his new coaches may find it difficult to bring the best out of the Rebels as the previous coaching staff did. The likes of Joe Cox, George McDonald, Kevin Smith, Dane Stevens, Sawyer Jordan, Nick Savage, and Billy Glasscock all left with Kiffin to Baton Rouge.

Outperforming LSU would take more than just the emotions of a revenge mission; it would take an improved team, especially in the secondary and offensive tackle room. While the team’s stars are brilliant enough, the task at hand requires team effort. They play LSU in September, and the result of that game could make or mar their season, especially after their bold statements about the fixture.