Pete Golding's squad made it to the SEC top order after a historic 13-1 season.
Indiana lifting the National Title kickstarted the offseason, and the way-too-early rankings for the 2026 season officially marked its beginning.
ESPN released its way-too-early 2026 season rankings, and the Rebels are sitting in a sweet, sweet spot to make another College Football Playoff run, and possibly finish it off with a National Championship appearance this season.
After finishing off the 2025 season at No. 3, the Rebels opened their 2026 season at No. 9.
Pete Golding locked in for 2026
The ranking is thoroughly impressive for a squad that just had the most dramatic head coaching change pllauging it all season, plus a staff and roster mass exodus.
The 2026 season will be Golding's first true season as Ole Miss's head coach, primed with his new staff and a relatively new roster.
Newer staff members would require immidiate attention as Golding will need a fresh blueprint from ground up to keep up their elite reputation.
While they still await the decision on Trinidad Chambliss, returning RB Kewan Lacy would be a cornerstone in Golding's squad this season.
That, plus the hope of Ole Miss landing another from shadows-to-spotlight transfer portal star in 2026.
All that said, Golding's squad is currently ranked the third-best team in the SEC, with only Texas and Georgia preceding them in the Top 10.
How Golding navigates through them, plus the established ACC and B1G and Big 12 stars, will decide whether the Rebels' 2026 run would be better or as good as the 2025 season.