SEC FOOTBALL COMPANION GUIDE • ALPHABETICAL 11 OF 16
2026 Season Snapshot • Oxford, Mississippi
11-1 regular season — CFP semifinalist
SEC
Live schedule, lines and results for Ole Miss.
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HEAD COACH
Pete Golding — 1st full season at Ole Miss
LIFETIME COACHING RECORD
2–1 as interim/permanent HC (2025 CFP run)
Promoted from defensive coordinator when Lane Kiffin left for LSU on Nov. 30, 2025, mid-CFP run. Golding coached Ole Miss to CFP wins over Tulane and Georgia before falling to Miami in the semifinal. Previously Alabama's DC from 2018-22 under Nick Saban.
OLE MISS ATS RECORD
No standalone HC ATS record yet (first full season)
Inherits a program off its first-ever 13-win season (11-1 regular season, CFP semifinal berth) — Ole Miss returns 49 letterwinners and is a preseason top- 3 SEC pick, with real national-title-level expectations for year one under Golding.
HEAD COACH SALARY (2026)
$6.8M
TEAM NIL VALUATION (EST.)
Not disclosed
PRIMARY NIL COLLECTIVE
The Grove Collective
Coach salary per Yahoo Sports/Daily Journal term sheet (5-yr, $35M deal, $100K annual raises to $7.2M by 2030) obtained after Golding's Nov. 30, 2025 promotion. Ole Miss has not disclosed a team NIL figure.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
John David Baker — 1st season (2nd stint) • Explosive spread
Returns to Oxford after coordinating a top-3 American Conference offense at East Carolina (464.7 ypg). Inherits Trinidad Chambliss, who threw for 3,937 yards (3rd-most in FBS) after taking over the starting job in Week 3 of 2025 and finishing top-10 in Heisman voting.
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Bryan Brown — 3rd season • Golding system
Co-DC Marcus Woodson joins from Arkansas. Golding remains the program's defensive architect even as head coach; the unit returns All-SEC DT Will Echoles and LB Suntarine Perkins as its foundation, though the edge and secondary were retooled via the portal after Princewill Umanmielen left for LSU.
2025 RECORD
11–1 regular season — CFP semifinalist
Program's first-ever 13-win season. Beat Tulane and Georgia in the CFP before falling to Miami in the semifinal. Third straight 10+ win season, a first in Ole Miss history.
HOME FIELD
Vaught–Hemingway Stadium
Natural grass, Oxford. The Grove and one of the sport's most electric college-football weekend atmospheres — a real recruiting and home-field asset for a program now operating with national-title expectations.
| SLOT | PLAYER | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB1 | Trinidad Chambliss | Sr | ★★★★★ | D-II transfer (Ferris State) who won a legal battle for a 6th season; threw for 3,937 yards (66.1% comp) after taking over in Week 3 of 2025. Preseason Maxwell Award watch list honoree. |
| RB1 | Kewan Lacy | Jr | ★★★★★ | Third in the FBS with 1,464 rushing yards and 23 TD in 2025; preseason All-American and one of the best backs in the country. Turned down LSU (and RBs coach Kevin Smith) to return to Oxford. |
| WR1 | Deuce Alexander | — | ★★★★★ | Wake Forest transfer (former three-star out of Douglas County, Ga.); the unquestioned leader of the receiving corps after 44 rec, 684 yds in 2025, including a season-high 7 catches in the CFP First Round win over Tulane. |
| WR2 | Johntay Cook II | — | ★★★★★ | 5-STAR Syracuse transfer (formerly Texas); consensus top-50 national recruit and five-star signee in the 2023 class, now looking to fulfill that promise in Oxford after 45 rec, 549 yds at Syracuse in 2025. |
D-II transfer (Ferris State) who won a legal battle for a 6th season; threw for 3,937 yards (66.1% comp) after taking over in Week 3 of 2025. Preseason Maxwell Award watch list honoree.
Third in the FBS with 1,464 rushing yards and 23 TD in 2025; preseason All-American and one of the best backs in the country. Turned down LSU (and RBs coach Kevin Smith) to return to Oxford.
Wake Forest transfer (former three-star out of Douglas County, Ga.); the unquestioned leader of the receiving corps after 44 rec, 684 yds in 2025, including a season-high 7 catches in the CFP First Round win over Tulane.
Syracuse transfer (formerly Texas); consensus top-50 national recruit and five-star signee in the 2023 class, now looking to fulfill that promise in Oxford after 45 rec, 549 yds at Syracuse in 2025.
| PLAYER | POS | YEAR | HS Stars | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brycen Sanders | C | — | ★★★★★ | Unanimous four-star signee (2023); returning starter as the entire interior offensive line is back from 2025, a real continuity advantage. |
| Interior returners | OL | — | ★★★★★ | Ole Miss returns its entire interior offensive line from a top-3 national offense — among the least turnover of any line in this guide. |
Unanimous four-star signee (2023); returning starter as the entire interior offensive line is back from 2025, a real continuity advantage.
Ole Miss returns its entire interior offensive line from a top-3 national offense — among the least turnover of any line in this guide.
| PLAYER | POS | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Will Echoles | DT | Preseason first-team All-SEC; 68 tackles, 11.5 TFL in 2025. The anchor of a defensive front described internally as "tremendous." |
| Suntarine Perkins | DE | Third-team All-SEC in 2024 (10.5 sacks) looking to bounce back after a down year (4.5 sacks) in 2025; among the most important returning defenders in the SEC. |
| Michael Boireau | DT | Florida transfer joining Echoles on the interior after Ole Miss revamped the edge following Princewill Umanmielen's departure to LSU. |
Preseason first-team All-SEC; 68 tackles, 11.5 TFL in 2025. The anchor of a defensive front described internally as "tremendous."
Third-team All-SEC in 2024 (10.5 sacks) looking to bounce back after a down year (4.5 sacks) in 2025; among the most important returning defenders in the SEC.
Florida transfer joining Echoles on the interior after Ole Miss revamped the edge following Princewill Umanmielen's departure to LSU.
| PLAYER | POS | HS Stars | NOTES / NFL OUTLOOK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Kite | CB | ★★★★★ | Unanimous four-star signee (Alabama, 2022) who found a home at Ole Miss; one of four Rebels who committed early to returning under Golding even amid the coaching turmoil. |
| Jaylon Braxton | CB | ★★★★★ | Arkansas transfer (consensus four-star, 2023 class, former SEC Freshman of the Week); considered by beat writers the best corner currently in the room, quarterbacks avoided throwing his way in 2025. |
| Jalyn Crawford | CB | ★★★★★ | Auburn transfer (four-star per 247Sports' transfer rankings) adding competition and depth to a cornerback room that could be one of the SEC's best. |
Unanimous four-star signee (Alabama, 2022) who found a home at Ole Miss; one of four Rebels who committed early to returning under Golding even amid the coaching turmoil.
Arkansas transfer (consensus four-star, 2023 class, former SEC Freshman of the Week); considered by beat writers the best corner currently in the room, quarterbacks avoided throwing his way in 2025.
Auburn transfer (four-star per 247Sports' transfer rankings) adding competition and depth to a cornerback room that could be one of the SEC's best.
2025 ATS
9-6
60% cover rate — 23rd of 82
2025 Straight up
13-2
Point differential +238
Scoring environment
58
Combined points per game — 14th highest of 82
Home / road ATS
6-3 · 2-2
Totals 8-7 O/U (3-6 home, 3-1 road)
Points scored / allowed
36.9 per game scored (7th) · 21.1 allowed (29th)
Margin & schedule
Margin of victory +15.9 (8th) · Strength of schedule +1.6
SRS power rating
+12.8
12th of 82 — projected points vs. a league-average team on a neutral field
Offensive SRS
+13.1
5th of 82
Defensive SRS
+4.2
32nd of 82
Points (margin of victory)
+15.9 · 8th of 82
Against the spread
9-6 (60%) · 23rd of 82
Totals (combined PPG)
58 · 14th of 82
Computed from CollegeFootballData 2025 results and closing consensus lines.
Saved Just J research for Ole Miss.
Despite Kiffin taking six assistants to LSU, Ole Miss retained its two biggest stars (QB Trinidad Chambliss, RB Kewan Lacy) plus several defensive anchors — a rare case of a coaching change with almost no on-field talent bleed.
Ole Miss has the most passing yards in the country over the last three seasons and ranks top-3 in total points — that identity should largely persist even with a new OC (John David Baker, a Golding retread hire).
Golding was Alabama's DC for 5 seasons under Saban — this is as defense-first a head coach as exists in the SEC, a departure from Kiffin's offense-forward identity.
Full interior continuity behind a Heisman-caliber RB and a proven QB is a real structural advantage entering 2026 — one of the safer offensive lines to trust in the SEC.
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