Week 1 of Ole Miss Football is nearly here. The Rebels are wrapping up their final preseason week and will take on the Louisville Cardinals this Sunday at 6:30 p.m. in Nissan Stadium.
The Rebels scrimmaged this past weekend as part of their game week simulation. While the mock game was a great chance for players to practice in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, head coach Pete Golding also noted that acclimating to the game day setting helps the coaching staff.
“We really did the mock game week not as much for the players, to be honest, but from a staff standpoint, to make sure we get the schedule down, build the right routine and make sure we’re hitting everything,” Golding said in a press conference on Aug. 31.
Golding will continue to call plays even though he is no longer defensive coordinator. He is still adjusting to being more involved on the offensive side of the ball, something the mock game week helped with. Additionally, the roster remains healthy.
“We’ll have everybody that we intended to have when we started camp; everybody’s available. Everybody’s in a pretty good spot,” Golding said.
Throughout fall camp, Golding has seen flashes from the team, but he said it still struggles with inconsistency. Overall, he is tough on the players on the field; he is also tough on the players when answering questions.
“I thought the execution was better. I’ve really been on them about the consistency of the execution,” Golding said. “I thought we saw more of that. It’s still not where it needs to be. We got another week of great practice, but (I) thought the guys played extremely hard.”
One of the issues from the scrimmage was busted plays, meaning defenders did not properly cover offensive players, leading to big plays.
“There were some explosives in that scrimmage because of lack of communication and all those things, and if you do that this coming Sunday, you’re not going to win the football game,” Golding said.
Sunday will be the first time the Rebels have not played against themselves in eight months. The defense will certainly be excited to not compete against the high-octane Rebel offense, while the offense is also looking forward to fresh competition.
Fans will get their first look at new offensive coordinator John David Baker’s Rebel offense on Sunday. Golding spoke about how the Ole Miss offensive attack fared in the scrimmage.
“We didn’t start very fast on offense, but I thought they got it going midway through the second quarter,” Golding said. “(They) finished strong in the third quarter before we pulled some guys, so (there were) some really good things on tape and then a lot on tape that we went through yesterday.”
Ole Miss fans have tremendously high expectations for quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebels in 2026. A potential return to the College Football Playoff, along with possible Heisman Trophy honors for either Chambliss or running back Kewan Lacy, are on the line.
“This is real now. This is for keeps, so we got this week to make sure we prepare really hard to clean it up,” Golding said.
