Ole Miss handling business against Tulane in the first round of the College Football Playoff didn’t just punch a ticket to the next round; it sparked a much bigger question: Can the Rebels make a national championship run without Lane Kiffin?
The short answer: Why not?
The Ole Miss Offense Didn’t Leave With Lane Kiffin
There’s no denying Kiffin is one of college football’s most innovative offensive minds. But in Ole Miss’ first game without him, the Rebels looked anything but lost. If anything, they looked comfortable, confident, and fully operational.
Ole Miss put up 41 points, totaled 346 passing yards and 151 rushing yards, and racked up 29 first downs while moving the ball at will. On the surface, critics might shrug and point to Tulane as a Group of Five opponent. But context matters.
This same Tulane team held a prolific North Texas offense to just 21 points in the AAC Championship Game only weeks earlier, a win that earned the Green Wave their CFP spot. Tulane wasn’t there by accident. Ole Miss didn’t just beat them; they controlled them and did what had to be done, which no one can fault them for.
While Kiffin is gone, the offense is not.
Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. remained with the team for the CFP run despite heavy speculation about his future. Weis will eventually reunite with Kiffin at LSU, but for now, he’s still running the Rebels’ system, and it shows. Systems don’t vanish overnight because one coach leaves, especially when the players and the coach leading the unit remain intact.
Ole Miss finished the season with a PFSN offensive impact grade of 85.2, ranking 13th nationally. That kind of production doesn’t suddenly disappear. There may be a slight step back at times, but this offense is still very much an offense.
At the center of it all is quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, arguably the most underrated star in college football. Chambliss posted a PFSN QB impact grade of 90.3, fifth-best in the nation, while throwing for 3,016 yards and adding 470 yards on the ground. A true dual-threat who stresses defenses in every possible way, Chambliss’ rise is even more impressive given his Division II background. And he’s not alone.
Running back Kewan Lacy has been just as dominant, earning a 90.1 RB impact grade (seventh-best nationally) while scoring 20 rushing touchdowns, the second-most in the country. Together, Chambliss and Lacy give Ole Miss one of the most dangerous backfield tandems in the playoffs.
Defense, Belief, and the Pete Golding Effect
The Ole Miss defense doesn’t always grab headlines, but it’s quietly effective. The Rebels grade out at 82.2 defensively according to PFSN’s impact grading scale, 34th nationally, and operate as a classic bend-but-don’t-break unit. They allow just 20.08 points per game and 5.2 yards per play, often forcing opponents to press. That pressure matters.
Because the Ole Miss offense scores so quickly and consistently, opposing teams are pushed out of their comfort zone, going for fourth downs instead of taking points. The Rebels capitalize on that, holding opponents to a 35.8% conversion rate on third and fourth downs, good for 30th nationally. This is an opportunistic defense that knows when it needs to make a stop.
Much of that belief starts at the top. New head coach Pete Golding has this team coming together at exactly the right time. While he continues to call defensive plays, there’s a noticeable difference between Golding the coordinator and Golding the head coach. His authenticity resonates throughout the locker room.
“He just has that head coach swag about himself,” Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator Bryan Brown said. “He controls the moment, he controls the narrative… The guys believe in him.”
That belief is echoed by players and staff alike. Golding isn’t trying to reinvent himself or be something he’s not, and the team has fully bought in.
Why Ole Miss Can Finish the Job
Elite offense. A defense that rises to the moment. A locker room united under a coach the players believe in. Momentum at the right time.
Kiffin helped build this foundation, but Ole Miss has proven it doesn’t crumble without him. The Rebels are still a dangerous, explosive, and very much alive force in the national title race.
With this level of firepower and belief, Ole Miss doesn’t need Kiffin on the sideline to dream big. They just might need him watching from home on January 19th, wishing he had stayed in Oxford.
