The 2026 college football season will officially start the Pete Golding era in Oxford and the Lane Kiffin era in Baton Rouge as the two take over at the helm of each program. While Golding led Ole Miss on a nice playoff run, everyone will always say that it was Kiffin's team that he took over. Given how Lane Kiffin left Oxford, Golding deserves far more credit.
Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss at the end of the regular season in shocking fashion, opting to leave a team that had a chance at a National Championship for a program he felt gives him a better chance on a yearly basis. Given that LSU and Ole Miss are SEC rivals, it only made the decision more emotional on both sides.
Pete Golding down plays Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford
While there will be countless big games during the 2026 college football season, everyone is circling LSU vs Ole Miss as the potential game of the year. Given how crazy Tennessee fans have been when Lane Kiffin returns all these years later, the freshness of Kiffin's departure and everything that went into it will make Oxford an insane environment.
While many point to the game as the biggest of the season, Pete Golding is sending a different message. The Ole Miss head coach is calling for the fans to start focusing on the season one game at a time.
"If you’re worrying about the LSU game that everybody is talking about you better worry about Louisville you better worry about right now."Pete Golding
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— Brad Logan (@BradLoganCOTE) April 27, 2026
“If you’re worrying about the LSU game that everybody is talking about…..you better worry about Louisville…..you better worry about right now.”
-Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding on anyone looking ahead on the season. #OleMiss pic.twitter.com/Y0ziyloVuK
The message from Pete Golding makes perfect sense to tell his team, but the fanbase will never listen. Lane Kiffin betrayed the fanbase with how he left after Ole Miss gave him his first chance back in the Power 4, and the fans will be eager to watch the Rebels try to knock Lane Kiffin and the players who followed him off.
The goal for Pete Golding will be getting his team to focus one game at a time as it certainly will be a challenge to repeat the magic of next season. Two things can be true, and the fans should appreciate the ride of the season, but that LSU game will also mean a lot to the players and coaches who stayed as well as the school.
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