Ole Miss Rebels 2026 College Football Preview
Posted August 9, 2026
2025 Recap
Record – 13-2
ATS – 8-7
That was quite the ride for Ole Miss fans!
The Rebels rolled out to a 6-0 start, and while four of those victories were one-score affairs, you got the sense that they were going to be a problem for the rest of the SEC. They gave mighty Georgia a heck of a battle down in Athens but fell in a close one — their only loss of the regular season.
Ole Miss missed out on playing in the SEC Championship thanks to a totally legit tiebreaking system, but they rolled into the College Football Playoff — without head coach Lane Kiffin — and did some serious damage. After taking down Tulane and getting revenge on Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, they reached the CFP Semifinals, where they were finally knocked off by YOUR Miami Hurricanes in a thrilling Fiesta Bowl.
Ole Miss Rebels 2026 Outlook
OFFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (SEC):
- Scoring: 36.9 PPG (#3)
- Total Offense: 489.7 YPG (#1)
- Rushing: 176.3 YPG (#6)
- Passing: 313.3 YPG (#1)
- Sacks Allowed: 19 (#1)
The Rebels moved like a TREMENDOUS MACHINE with star QB Trinidad Chambliss at the controls, and one must look no further than what he did to the Georgia and Miami defenses in the CFP to understand how great he was in 2025 (3,937, 22-3 TD to INT, 527, 8 TD). Chambliss is back to lead the show one more time, and he’ll be glad to know that his partner in crime is also returning in star RB Kewan Lacy, who put up monster numbers during last year’s All-American campaign (1,567, 5.1, 24 TD). There’s adequate depth behind Lacy this year, including Michigan St transfer Makhi Frazier (520, 2 TD), and don’t sleep on Southern Utah transfer RB Joshua Dye, who was an absolute force last season with the Thunderbirds (1,831, 6.2, 28 TD).
Ole Miss has to replace three of its top four wide receivers, along with TE1, so the THROW GAME weaponry might be down a notch from what we saw in 2025. That said, they retain WR Deuce Alexander (684, 15.5, 2 TD) and have added a handful of experienced targets through the portal. While there doesn’t appear to be a single game-changer in the room, the overall depth is impressive. Two guys to keep an eye on are WR Johntay Cook II (Syracuse) and redshirt freshman WR Caleb Cunningham, who was a 5-star recruit and the highest-rated prospect in Mississippi coming out of high school.
There is some concern regarding the offensive line, as they have to replace a pair of fine starting tackles, but the good news is that they still feature an experienced room led by center Brycen Sanders that boasts over 90 combined career starts.
DEFENSE
2025 By The Numbers (SEC):
- Scoring: 21.1 PPG (#9)
- Total Defense: 348.0 YPG (#9)
- Rushing Defense: 149.1 YPG (#12)
- Passing Defense: 198.9 YPG (#5)
- Sacks: 33 (#6)
The defense wasn’t the monster it was in 2024, failing to hold up against the best opponents on its schedule for the most part. Only three of its top-12 tacklers return, but there’s still plenty of talent on this side of the football.
The defensive line boasts impressive size, with the projected starting trio averaging 305 pounds. It’s fantastic to have one of the best interior linemen in the SEC in NT Will Echoles, who is coming off an All-American season (5 sacks, 11.5 TFL, 5 PBU) and serves as an elite piece to build around. Losing devastating pass-rushing DE Princewill Umanmielen (9 sacks) is a tough blow, but the defense should be able to cobble together a strong rush from the front two levels.
The LB unit looks very strong with the return of lethal PENETRATOR Suntarine Perkins (4.5 sacks, 12 TFL, 12 QBH, 5 PBU), alongside a pair of experienced portal additions in Keaton Thomas (105 tackles, 7 TFL at Baylor) and Luke Ferrelli (91 tackles, 5 TFL at Cal). The secondary boasts a solid senior safety combo in Joenel Aguero (Georgia) and Sharif Denson (Florida), while Antonio Kite leads a group of talented cornerbacks.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Rebels have one of the best placekickers in college football in Lucas Carneiro (31/35 FG, 14-17 from 40+) and a promising sophomore punter in Oscar Bird (46.0 avg, 43.6 net), but they’ll need to find new primary return men.
Schedule Analysis
The Rebels have a pair of automatic wins in non-conference play, but the season opener against LUA-VUH in Nashville will be a tough way to start the festivities. The SEC schedule is challenging — while they avoid Alabama, they face a gauntlet with LSU (H), Texas (A), Georgia (H), and Oklahoma (A).
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Oklahoma (Nov 14)
The Rebels have to travel to face the Sooners in Norman in mid-November, which already isn’t an easy task — but to make matters worse, this game directly follows a massive battle with Georgia. Oh yeah, and Oklahoma will be looking for revenge after last year’s home defeat to Ole Miss.
Season Win Total
Market consensus – August 9
Over 7.5 -165
Under 7.5 +135
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
The Rebels still boast one of the most talented rosters in the SEC — and even with a grueling schedule ahead, an eight-plus win season remains a realistic expectation.
Note – Our official list of season win total investments will be posted in the blog section of the website.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
The exact origin of Ole Miss’s famous “Hotty Toddy” chant remains a complete mystery. First appearing in print in 1926 as “Heighty! Tighty!”, theories behind the phrase range from WWII military cadences to the alcoholic drink to rival fans calling the student body “hoity-toity.”
The University of Mississippi’s iconic 10-acre tailgating haven — The Grove — is famous for having its own unspoken, high-fashion dress code. Instead of jersey-clad slobs eating off paper plates, you’ll find bow ties, SMOKESHOWS in cocktail dresses, chandeliers powered by car batteries, and gourmet catering served on fine silver platters. Sign us up, yo.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
Ole Miss was one of the most entertaining teams in the entire country last year, and we don’t expect anything different this season. The Rebels have legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates at quarterback and running back, and a defense that’s strong at every level. Need a clutch field goal? They’ve got that covered, too. The schedule is going to be tough to navigate, and they only get a single breather in September, so we’ll call for a 9-3 campaign — but the ceiling is extremely high for this bunch, and we’d love to see them back in the College Football Playoff.
Hotty Toddy!