Skepticism is one thing, but undermining a program that almost won the College Football Playoff semifinals is something entierly else.
Ole Miss football coach Pete Golding has pulled the Rebels through the toughest stretch in the CFP, while juggling raids on his staff, roster, handling recruiting, and deaing the whole mess from Kiffin's exit drama.
It’s clear as day that Golding’s path will be much smoother next season—especially after the gauntlet of controversies he’s had to navigate this year.
The Athletic seriously undermining Pete Golding
Yet, The Athletic believes Ole Miss's 2026 season will be the stark opposite of their 2025 season.
15 out of 28 college football writers from The Athletic voted for Ole Miss to be the final Top 10 team from 2025 that is the most likely to finish 2026 unranked.
The reason? "Chambliss’ eligibility status could dictate what happens for Ole Miss, but our staff is pessimistic about the Rebels’ chances, with Alabama and Texas A&M garnering most of the rest of the skepticism."
Sure, Chambliss's eligibility crisis has been a point of contention for the Rebels, but undermining the whole roster for a single player is as absurd as it gets.
Chambliss is the crown jewel, but the rest of the roster is what makes him the crown jewel. They might face a holdup or two here and there in situations where Chambliss's cannon arm saved the day, but they would still manage just fine with the staff and roster Golding has created in Oxford.
Rebels' portal class was ranked No. 2, and five of their 28 transfer portal commits were ranked among ESPN's Top 100.
As for the roster of 2025, Golding has lost some of his star players like Princewill Umanmielen and Cayden Lee, but let's not forget that he still has the best card up his sleeve, RB Kewan Lacy, for the 2026 season.
That alone should put a good part of that Chambliss concern to ease.
All that's left to see is which direction new OC JOhn Baker takes Ole Miss's offense from here.
And as for the rankings, Golding has always let his results do the talking. Hopefully, they will in 2026 as well.