Kewan Lacy never made it back onto the field after a collision with three Texas defenders left him clutching his left shoulder Saturday. The Ole Miss RB took a hard fall in the third quarter and was carted out, dislocating his shoulder during the 34-27 defeat to Texas. Now, the Rebels have a big problem to deal with. Head coach Pete Golding has already ruled him out for the upcoming game against Auburn.

Pete Golding offered the update Monday morning, earlier than coaches typically disclose injury information during an SEC game week. His message left little room for optimism about Kewan Lacy’s immediate availability.

“Obviously, he’s not gonna play this week,” he said, via The Next Round. “And then we’re gonna evaluate that moving forward, kind of what that looks like. So I know normally we wouldn’t tell you that, but there’s no chance that we’re gonna try that at all this week.

There is a frustrating detail behind this injury. Kewan Lacy had already dealt with a shoulder issue earlier this season, making Saturday’s setback another interruption to a season that has not really gone according to plan.

Pete Golding said the latest injury was different from the previous problem. Kewan Lacy is undergoing rehabilitation, and the medical staff is continuing its evaluation, including additional MRI work. For now, Ole Miss has no clear timetable beyond his absence against Auburn.

That uncertainty matters because Kewan Lacy is coming off a spectacular 2025 campaign, when he rushed for 1,567 yards and 24 touchdowns. Expectations were high for the junior from Dallas, who entered this season as a preseason All-American.

His 2026 numbers stand at 388 rushing yards and five touchdowns. He managed just 36 yards on 16 carries against Texas, but his value to the Rebels goes beyond what showed up in the box score.

Ole Miss needed every available weapon to complete its comeback Saturday. Texas had built a 24-3 lead before the Rebels fought their way back to tie the game early in the fourth quarter. They ultimately fell short, dropping to 5-2, and now must regroup without Kewan Lacy before Auburn comes to Oxford this Saturday, followed by a Nov. 7 matchup against No. 3 Georgia. 

The first name to watch is Makhi Frazier, who has already put together a respectable season behind Kewan Lacy. He has rushed for 301 yards on 51 carries, giving Ole Miss a capable option to handle a larger workload.

He also showed what he could do against Texas, gaining 47 yards on six attempts. One of those runs covered 34 yards, providing a glimpse of the explosiveness that the Rebels will need more consistently with their starter unavailable. Pete Golding, however, isn’t treating this as a one-man replacement job.

“Makhi’s come in and played well,” he said. “I think with Kewan being out this week, Shekai (Mills-Knight) is going to have a real opportunity this week as well.”

Mills-Knight has four carries for 42 yards and a touchdown this season. JT Lindsey has contributed 86 yards on 25 attempts, while Joshua Dye has four carries for 25 yards. Their numbers are modest, but the Auburn game could give them opportunities they haven’t had before.

QB Trinidad Chambliss could also become a bigger part of the ground game. He’s already the team’s third-leading rusher and has scored six rushing touchdowns, giving Ole Miss another option if its backfield rotation struggles to find consistency.

Ole Miss will kick off against Auburn at 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Rebels need a response after their second loss of the season, and they’ll have to find it with a reshuffled backfield.