Sunday’s new AP Top 25 poll made one thing clear for Ole Miss fans. The easy part of the schedule is already behind them with one exception.
By the time Wofford rolls around in late November that’s just to wrap things up for a College Fooball Playoff run and seeding before the Egg Bowl to end the season.
Texas jumped all the way to No. 1 after a wild comeback win over Ohio State. Georgia held steady at No. 2 following a 70-20 rout of Western Kentucky.
Ole Miss stayed put too, sitting right at No. 8 after two clean wins to open the season.
There’s no time to enjoy that ranking though. Lane Kiffin comes to Oxford this Saturday, and he’s not walking in wearing a Rebels headset anymore.
Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU last December, and now his new team shows up at No. 7 in the country.
It’s the first Top 10 meeting between these two programs since 1962, and it’s happening inside The Grove with a coach who used to call Oxford home.
Fans will be tailgating early and loud, and Kiffin should feel every bit of that return in the stadium.
But the LSU game is just the opening act. The Rebels still have four more ranked teams left on the schedule after Saturday.
Three more Top 10 tests remain
Texas sits at No. 1 and waits for Ole Miss on the road in late October.
Georgia checks in at No. 2 and comes to Oxford in early November. Add those two to LSU and that’s three Top 10 opponents left on the slate.
Missouri at No. 20 and Oklahoma at No. 24 round things out, giving the Rebels five ranked games total between now and the Egg Bowl.
That’s a stretch that would test any roster in the country, let alone a first-year staff still finding its footing.
What comes after LSU
A trip to Florida follows the LSU game, then a bye week gives Ole Miss a breather before Vanderbilt on the road.
Missouri comes to Oxford next, marking the Tigers’ first visit there since 2013.
Then it’s a trip to Texas, followed by Auburn at home and Georgia the week after that.
Oklahoma gets the Rebels on the road in mid-November before that Wofford game serves as a built-in break ahead of the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.
Pete Golding’s first season in charge couldn’t have handed him a tougher back half if it tried.
Every one of these Saturdays carries weight for where Ole Miss ends up when the playoff picture gets sorted out.
Complete Top 25 from Sunday’s poll
(Ole Miss opponents in 2026 are in bold)
- Texas
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Indiana
- Miami
- Ohio State
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Alabama
- BYU
- USC
- Texas Tech
- Penn State
- Tennessee
- SMU
- Utah
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Oregon
- Houston
- Louisville
- Oklahoma
- Virginia
