Pete Golding refuses to dump the blame on missed PI call for Fiesta Bowl loss

One missed officiating call was all it took to put an end to Ole Miss's historic 2025 season and crushed their legitimate chance at being the National Champions. 

Analysts and insiders alike called out the terrible officiating on Trinidad Chambliss' Hail Mary to De’Zhaun Stribling, which deflected off his left hand. There was a lot of jockeying and contact on the play, but officials let it go. From the clips going viral, it appeared that the defender had a hold of Stribling's collar, which should have cost the Canes a DPI.

Even after a heartbreaking 31-27 loss like that, Pete Golding continues to win hearts. Not only did he completely own the loss, but he also didn't put all the blame solely on the missed PI call.

Pete Golding on the missed PI call

“Those situations, it's tough to call them," Golding said post-game. "I mean, yeah, there was contact but it happens a lot. That's not why we lost the game.”

Golding added how the execution could have been better from their end, considering Ole Miss had just 18 minutes and 38 seconds of possession time over Miami’s over 41 minutes. 

“It looks like you ran out of time, but we didn't execute well enough," Golding said. "We didn't prepare well enough and we didn't coach well enough.”

Ole Miss defense undoubtedly took a beating from the Canes offense, but Lacy’s 73-yard touchdown made up for it. 

The pressure eventually got to Chambliss as the QB struggled to throw by the third quarter. He seemed to recover from it, though, when it was time for his Hail Mary. 

Kewan Lacy was just finding his momentum when a right hamstring injury interrupted it. Perhaps it was the injury or the broken momentum that Lacy could not produce as expected on the offense.

By then, most of Ole Miss’s points were coming through the air anyway. 

Nonetheless, Golding owning up to the mistake despite a clear missed call seems like the best end to the Rebels' 2026 season.