Back in the studio this offseason, prepping for another smash hit under first-year coach Pete Golding, Ole Miss aims to shake the one-hit-wonder persona as a College Football Playoff title threat in 2026. Expectations have changed for the Rebels, whose breakup with Lane Kiffin was ugly but not trajectory-changing, given the program's CFP-or-bust benchmark.
Intel coming out of spring suggests this Ole Miss roster will be up for the challenge after signing the nation's second-best transfer portal haul while retaining two of the SEC's most dynamic players in quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and ballcarrier Kewan Lacy.
The duo was responsible for 54 touchdowns last fall, taking the Rebels to all-time highs before finishing one victory shy of a berth in the national title game.
SEC post-spring intel: Inside the key QB battles, breakout players, more buzz from across the league Chris Hummer
"My biggest takeaway from this spring is this is the most talented team we've had from top to bottom in terms of depth and top players (since Kiffin's arrival at Ole Miss in 2020)," a source told CBS Sports this month. "In 2024, we had really good players, but we didn't have the depth at certain positions (like we do now). We also have elite players at key positions like quarterback, running back and defensive line."
Golding had a chance to see his new-look lineup throughout spring and will use the next few months to assess his two-deep before finalizing his install plan for fall camp. Carius Curne, who started at both right and left tackle at times for LSU as a true freshman in 2025, is one of 29 transfer additions, a group driven by Power Four talent across several position groups.
This could be the most complete football team the Rebels have fielded in the modern era -- and that includes every high-powered roster Kiffin helped bring to Oxford through the portal. That sounds bold considering the former coach's impact on the program. Kiffin modernized Ole Miss' offense, weaponized the portal before most coaches understood it and pushed the Rebels into annual playoff conversations.
But what Golding inherited -- and more importantly, what he has built since taking over -- feels different. Roster composition is what makes this team especially intriguing. There's SEC size along both lines of scrimmage. There's proven portal production. And there's no ceiling in place that could potentially limit potential.
The Rebels have been there and done that, which is usually the separator between "dangerous" and "championship-level."
Ole Miss leans in on physicality, defense
The distractions this team faced throughout November and December last fall are no more, with Golding choosing to remain unfazed by what he can't control. Criticism from Kiffin and Dabo Swinney this offseason has not altered the focus on a program with goals within reach if plug-and-play signees complement the returning players.
Ole Miss stock hit all-time highs last season, but there's no regression coming, according to those close to the program. With as many as 10 new starters, including seven expected on defense, it would be understandable for most to adjust win total projections a game or two, given the personnel changes.
That's not the takeaway post-spring, however.
"Defense is going to be much improved as a whole," another source told CBS Sports. "There's been significant upgrades at all three levels. The D-line has a legitimate 2024 Philadelphia Eagles feel where we can rotate two full units out there and feel very good about ourselves."
That expected ferocious defensive front includes Kam Franklin, Will Echoles, Jamarious Brown and several transfers, including former Colorado nose tackle Jehiem Oatis, whose career began at Alabama. Former Oregon linebacker Blake Purchase, Baylor's Keaton Thomas and Luke Ferrelli from California will assist returning standout Suntarine Perkins in the middle, with the back end of the defense being almost entirely new.
Thomas flashed during spring practice and is turning heads as a gem signing of sorts. He registered 205 total tackles over the last two years in the Big 12 and has major shoes to fill following TJ Pottery's departure to LSU. Princewill Umanmielen, who led the Rebels in sacks last fall, signed with the Tigers, too.
Ole Miss ranked near the middle of the SEC in several categories last season, including total defense, scoring defense and opponents' third-down conversion rate. Under the previous staff, the Rebels often won by overwhelming opponents offensively and forcing games into track meets.
Those teams were explosive, entertaining and dangerous, but there were stretches where physicality and defensive depth became issues against elite SEC competition. The Rebels appear constructed with far fewer holes, which starts defensively -- no surprise given Golding's background.
Brutal SEC schedule will define CFP path
Golding is already ahead of schedule after two playoff wins, but no one would've been surprised if the Ole Miss roster capsized after its coach exited in the middle of a championship chase last fall. Instead, the Rebels stabilized, a credit to Golding and the players rallying around what was left of Kiffin's staff.
The locker room stayed intact. In some ways, the Rebels actually looked tougher mentally during that postseason stretch than they had previously. That mattered entering a full offseason under new leadership, but with optimism comes the harsh reality of life in the SEC -- it never gets easier.
The biggest question surrounding a return to the CFP has very little to do with talent. Ole Miss only beat two nationally-ranked opponents during last year's run to an 11-win regular season and No. 6 seed in the CFP -- schedule favorability always matters. However, the slate is more difficult this time around with six games against opponents ranked inside our post-spring top 25.
While an established playoff-caliber infrastructure is already in place, there's still a variety of toss-up games against comparable, elite competition that will test the Rebels' overall worth as a perceived contender. How? For Golding, there are numerous aspects of being a first-time head coach that will be scrutinized, including clock management, staffing decisions, handling quarterback adversity and navigating SEC pressure weekly.
Those things become magnified when you're replacing the winningest coach in modern school history, an offensive tactician whose production on that side of the football may not be automatically replicable.
Ironically, Kiffin may have helped create the conditions for Ole Miss to surpass him if the Rebels are able to upend LSU in the SEC opener for both teams on Sept. 19. The foundation is strong, and many of the stars he once identified in the portal remain. There's also an incentive to play well early, given road trips to Florida, Texas and Oklahoma thereafter, along with potential defining matchups with Georgia and Auburn.
There's no easy stretch for the Rebels in 2026, but a win over the Tigers in Week 3 would increase the margin for error in the playoff discussion later on. If Ole Miss fails to seize that opportunity early, the positive momentum that Golding already has at the program could vanish when doubt begins to creep in.
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