Let’s be honest. For decades, being an Ole Miss fan was basically a cycle of "what if" and "maybe next year." You’d get the occasional upset in Oxford, a few flashy jerseys, and then a mediocre finish in the middle of the SEC pack. But things have changed. If you’ve been tracking the ole miss ranking in football lately, you know we aren’t looking at the same old Rebels.
The 2025 season just wrapped up, and it was a wild ride that ended in the desert. Ole Miss didn't just participate; they dominated. They finished the season with a massive 13-2 record. Think about that for a second. This is a program that used to pray for eight wins. Now, they are a mainstay in the top ten.
Where Ole Miss Stands Right Now
As of the final polls in January 2026, Ole Miss is sitting pretty at No. 6 in the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. They even held that No. 6 spot in the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings before the tournament started.
It wasn't just some lucky streak. They earned it.
The Rebels marched into the postseason and handled business. First, they dismantled Tulane 41-10 in the CFP First Round. Then came the big one: a 39-34 thriller against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Beating Georgia once is hard. Beating them in a playoff quarterfinal? That’s program-defining.
Eventually, the run ended in the Fiesta Bowl—the CFP Semifinal—with a 31-27 loss to Miami. It stung. But being the sixth-best team in the entire country is a long way from the days of hoping for a Liberty Bowl invite.
Breaking Down the 2025 Campaign
The schedule was a gauntlet. The Rebels started the year ranked No. 21, which, looking back, was kind of an insult. They took it personally.
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They ripped through the early season, including a 24-19 win over LSU in the Magnolia Bowl and a gritty 24-21 victory against Washington State. The only regular-season blemish was a late-October trip to Athens, where they lost 43-35 to Georgia. But they got their revenge when it mattered most on New Year's Day.
By the time the Egg Bowl rolled around in November, Ole Miss was a well-oiled machine. They went into Starkville and took care of Mississippi State 38-19. That win secured an 11-1 regular season—the first in the history of the school.
The Lane Kiffin Effect and the "Portal King" Legacy
You can’t talk about the ole miss ranking in football without talking about the guy in the visor. Lane Kiffin changed the DNA of this program. Before he took the LSU job on November 30, 2025, he turned Oxford into a destination.
Kiffin realized early on that you can't out-recruit Alabama and Georgia solely with high schoolers in the Deep South. So, he became the "Portal King."
He brought in four straight top-six transfer classes. In 2024, he actually had the No. 1 ranked transfer class in the country. He treated the roster like an NFL GM would, finding immediate starters like Walter Nolen, who became a consensus All-American and a first-round NFL pick.
Even though Kiffin has moved on to LSU, his fingerprints are all over this No. 6 ranking. He proved that Ole Miss could be a national powerhouse. He led the Rebels to three straight 10-win seasons, something legendary coach John Vaught never even did.
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Life After Kiffin: The Pete Golding Era
When Kiffin left for Baton Rouge right before the playoffs, people expected the Rebels to crumble. They didn't. Defensive Coordinator Pete Golding stepped up as the interim leader for the playoff run, and honestly, the defense looked as sharp as ever.
Golding’s defense was the secret sauce. While Kiffin got the headlines for the "high-flying" offense, it was the pass rush that won games. In 2024, they led the nation in sacks and tackles for loss. That identity carried over into 2025.
What the 2026 Rankings Look Like
Looking ahead, the ole miss ranking in football might take a slight hit initially, but the foundation is solid.
The 2026 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 22 by 247Sports. They’ve signed 19 high school prospects, including some heavy hitters:
- Jase Matthews: A dynamic wide receiver who some services have as a 5-star recruit.
- Damarius Yates: A four-star running back out of DeKalb who chose to stay home.
- Landon Barnes: A massive defensive end from Texas who should keep the pass rush terrifying.
The Rebels are leaning heavily into defensive recruits, with 12 of the 19 signees playing on that side of the ball. It’s clear they want to keep that "stifling" reputation alive, regardless of who is calling the plays on offense.
Why People Still Doubt the Rebels
It's not all sunshine in the Grove. There are plenty of critics who think Ole Miss is a "flash in the pan."
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Skeptics point to the fact that Kiffin took some recruits with him to LSU. Others argue that without Jaxson Dart—the quarterback who broke basically every record in school history—the offense will regress.
There's also the budget issue. Compared to the "Big Three" of the SEC (Georgia, Texas, Alabama), Ole Miss operates on a smaller NIL budget. They have to be smarter, not just richer. They’ve proven they can do that so far, but maintaining a top-10 ranking year after year is the hardest task in sports.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're trying to figure out if Ole Miss will stay in the top 10 or slide back to 8-4 territory, keep your eyes on these specific areas:
- The Transfer Portal Window: Watch the spring portal. Since the Rebels lost their head coach, how they retain their current roster is more important than who they sign. If the core of the 2025 defense stays in Oxford, they are a preseason top-15 team.
- The New Coach Hire: The university is in a transitional phase. A high-profile hire who embraces the portal will keep the momentum going. A "traditional" recruiter might struggle to keep the ranking high in the short term.
- Quarterback Development: Replacing Jaxson Dart is a nightmare. Watch the spring game to see if the next man up has the "it" factor or if the Rebels need to go shopping for a veteran starter in the portal again.
Ole Miss has officially moved past the era of being a "spoiler." They are a contender. Whether they stay there depends on if they can keep the "Portal King" mentality alive without the king himself.
The fact that we are even debating if a No. 6 ranking is "good enough" tells you everything you need to know about how far this program has come. Hotty Toddy, indeed.