Pete Golding had a problem Saturday afternoon, although it was a pretty good problem to have.
With Ole Miss comfortably ahead of Missouri in the fourth quarter, the Rebels’ coach wanted Kewan Lacy on the sideline. Lacy, who had already left the game with another injury, wanted to keep playing.
“I looked up and, I think it was the fourth, I’m like, ‘Dude, get Kewan out of the game. What are we doing?'” Golding said. “But that’s Kewan. He was like, ‘Coach, put me in.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, you’re coming out. We’re good. We got this one.'”
That exchange says plenty about Lacy’s determination. So did what he accomplished during Ole Miss’ 31-3 victory over No. 13 Missouri.
Lacy rushed for a season-high 122 yards on 16 carries, averaging 7.6 yards per attempt. He added two catches for 11 yards, giving him 133 yards from scrimmage against the school where his college career began.
AIR LACY 🤯@kewanlacy22 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/TV0jiiwBez
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 17, 2026
More impressive, he did it after leaving the game in the first quarter with an injury and sitting out the entire second quarter. Golding said the latest issue was unrelated to the shoulder injury that had already sidelined Lacy against Florida.
When Lacy returned after halftime, he looked like the All-American running back Ole Miss has been waiting to see again.
He broke off a 23-yard run in the third quarter and a 16-yarder in the fourth. With Makhi Frazier adding 101 yards, Ole Miss finished with a season-high 257 rushing yards.
“I want to play all four quarters of the game, be out there supporting my teammates,” Lacy said. “So just having that mindset to finish all four quarters of the game, it’s just something I stand by.”
Lacy has spent much of the season trying to get healthy enough to play the way he knows he can. He missed the Florida game with a shoulder injury and returned against Vanderbilt, but Saturday offered the clearest reminder of what he can do.
Getting onto the field, though, has required work that never appears in a box score.
“Just sticking to my schedule. Treatment, rehab, practice,” Lacy said. “Just sticking to the schedule every day, day by day, just getting better. That’s going to help me get on the field.”
That schedule means early mornings, long days and late nights.
“But if you really love football, you’re going to make time,” Lacy said.
Fans see the broken tackles and explosive runs on Saturday. They don’t see the hours spent recovering during the week just to make those plays possible.
For Lacy, that effort isn’t something extraordinary. It’s the cost of playing a physical sport.
“Nicks and bruises are always going to occur,” Lacy said. “It’s a physical sport, so you’ve just got to attack whatever you’re doing, rehab, practice, just attack it.”
There is a balance Ole Miss must strike, however. As much as Lacy wants every snap, the Rebels need him for the difficult stretch of SEC games still ahead.
“We’re in a gauntlet now. We’re in the middle of the season,” Golding said. “Guys are going to be banged up coming into it. So we’ve got to have the next guys on deck and ready to roll.”
Frazier’s performance showed that Ole Miss has help available when Lacy needs a break. But Saturday also demonstrated how different the offense can look when its star running back is producing at his best.
Lacy may not be fully healthy. His determination to keep playing, though, is helping make sure injuries don’t define his season.
