It’s a bit weird the sort of situation that the Ole Miss Rebels find themselves in. At 11-1 overall and one of the most successful teams in the country this season, it really seemed like they’d be the sort of team in a position to just keep rolling without any sort of weird drama off the field caused by a coaching change.
And yet, Lane Kiffin, the former head coach of the Rebels who in so many significant ways helped elevate Ole Miss to the point that the program is currently at (again, 11-1 and in the College Football Playoff) decided to leave to take the job as the head coach of the LSU Tigers.
So. Here we are. With a really impressive team that has cleared just about every single hurdle on its schedule. And the Rebels had to change coaches. It’s an odd situation.
Ole Miss Rebels look to make some noise in the College Football Playoff after losing their head coach Lane Kiffin to LSU
Here’s what you need to know about Ole Miss if you haven’t been keeping up with the drama in Oxford over the past few weeks (or really at any point in this season).
- Record: 11-1 overall, 7-1 SEC
- Conference: SEC
- Head coach: Pete Golding (previously the defensive coordinator for Ole Miss, now the permanent head coach following Lane Kiffin leaving for LSU just a few weeks ago)
- Stadium: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
- Location: Oxford, Mississippi
Again, kind of a weird situation. The first game that Golding will get to be the head coach of is going to be in the College Football Playoff. This is kind of unprecedented, at least to my knowledge. But, luckily for Golding, he is coaching a pretty solid team.
Trinidad Chambliss at quarterback is a really impressive dual threat and he’s thrived since taking control of the starting job in Oxford, where he’s thrown for over 3000 yards and completed 65.5 percent of his passes along the way. At running back, Kewan Lacy has managed to run for 1279 yards and 20 touchdowns on 258 carries.
The offense is really productive and impressive. And it’s averaging over 37 points per game and just shy of 500 yards per game.
On the defensive side of things, the Rebels are pretty solid there as well as they’ve held opponents to an average of 333 yards of offense per game and just 20.1 points per game.
This is a team that has thrived all throughout its schedule and managed to beat everyone in front of it except for the Georgia Bulldogs. If they can perform like they have all season, including in their first matchup with Tulane, they’ll be able to get Golding a win in the opening round.