Five Things Ole Miss Head Coach Pete Golding Said Before Facing Lsu

LSU football takes on its first ranked opponent of the year in No. 8 Ole Miss on Saturday. Head coach Lane Kiffin returns to the school he led for six seasons, and the Tigers are in search of revenge after falling to the Rebels in 2025.

Kiffin's squad rides a two-game win streak into the contest. Both were blowouts, starting with a win over Clemson. What many thought would be a quality first test for LSU turned into a blowout by halftime, ending 51-10. LSU took care of business against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, winning 45-14.

The Rebels already picked up a ranked win in 2026. They edged out No. 24 Louisville 41-38 in Week 1, then demolished Charlotte 41-9 in Week 2. They return quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy from their College Football Playoff team.

Ole Miss defensive coordinator and head coach Pete Golding met with the media Monday ahead of the Rebels' top-10 matchup with LSU in Oxford. Here are five things he said.

1. On keeping the focus off the Lane Kiffin storyline

"I think both teams, both schools put themselves in great position to have a top ten matchup, to open up SEC conference play for us at home with College GameDay. So there's so much on the line just from what the game means as far as from conference play and being a top ten matchup. And then obviously the former players and all the former coaches and the relationships that you've had. And I think that's not unique to one game anymore. I mean, it's no different when we play Missouri, right? So now with the portal and coaches going different places every year, there's always relationships that are there. Obviously this one being unique, their head ball coach that recruited a lot of these guys and all that is on the opposing side. But they know it's a top ten matchup. And regardless who we play, you're playing a top ten team in this league. If you don't prepare really well and practice really well and play your best game, you're probably not gonna win the game, regardless who it is. A lot going on, you got Ella Langley, you got GameDay, you got so much other stuff. But to me, it's like high school homecoming for these dudes. If you focus on the wrong [stuff], that homecoming dance ain't very fun after you get your butt beat on a Friday night. So we gotta make sure we're doing everything right throughout the week to get the outcome that we want."

2. On whether staff familiarity makes it easier or harder to game plan

"To me, I think it goes both. Obviously, there's a lot that you know about them on both sides, them about us, us about them. So there's a very big database, right, of going against somebody for three and a half years every spring, every fall camp, all the scrimmages. So I think it's really easy to overthink things as well, and try to have a plan for everything they've ever done under the sun. Which is really tough within one week for your players. And then I think you can outthink yourself sometimes, right? And like, all right, this is their bread and butter. This is what they do well. This is who they have. Yeah, they could do this, right, and we'll have to have a plan for if they do that. But you gotta put your focus and decide what are you trying to stop, right, based on who they have and who we got. And then be able to adjust to some other things. So I think sometimes you can make it a lot harder than it should be when you know somebody really well. But we know it's gonna be really challenging. Charlie does a really good job. Obviously Lane does a really good job on game day as well."

3. On what he sees from Sam Leavitt

"Obviously, I remember watching him back at Arizona State and was just like his athletic ability there. Obviously, he led in scrambles every year when he was there, and all those type of things, how athletic he was. He's got a big arm. I think the experience there, he's taken a team to the playoffs before coming off the injury. I think there's a lot of questions of how well would he really move. And he moves really well. And so I think his ability to extend plays with his feet, still be able to throw out of the pocket, still working to create some of those things to move the pocket and get them out and give them two way goes and all that. So I've just been really impressed with his athleticism once he decides to become a runner. So I think it's gonna be really important to try to make him become a pocket passer. And he's got some good weapons on the perimeter. But for me, for sure, it's been his athleticism once he decides not to throw and tuck it and run it. He's a lot more explosive. He's got better top end speed than I knew, especially coming off of an injury. So I've been really impressed with the athlete that he is."

4. On the limited tape of LSU's new offense

"Obviously there's a lot of similarities and you can see their bread and butter and what they believed in for a long time. There are a lot of new pieces to it. So in year one of that transition, I think that you haven't seen the whole menu. They do a really good job and always have of setting things up as far as sequencing plays and giving you certain pictures in some games that come back and work compliments off of it and all that. So you try to always be a step ahead, but those guys definitely do a really good job. But you can see still playing fast. I think both games, you don't have the same sample size you normally would. Just based on the flow of the game and them getting up, obviously on Clemson early. And then obviously a lot of tech the first half with the turnovers, it wasn't a lack of moving the football. All those were in the low red and that looks completely different at halftime. So they got to some of those things a little later. But so you don't have the normal sample size of a two games, right? With a new offense of the four quarters. So there's really about two halves, you really got one game. So you can kind of see, all right, where are they setting up for us and looking at their pieces, but they're very talented."

5. On how Ole Miss fans should handle the week

"To me, what this place has always been about, and why so many people love coming here and respect this place is because of the people that are here and how they make them feel when they come here. And that's always been something for me when you come here and you meet Ole Miss and alumni and all that. They're so respectful, they're appreciative, they're very welcoming. There's a competitive part of everybody, right? That obviously we're gonna create a really, really good environment like they always have for our top ten matchup. For it to be really hard to play offense in that stadium and be there early and be loud. But I think at the end of it, there's still a respect piece. And this place has always been known to have really, really good people. And that's the one thing to me about Oxford. The first thing you talk about is the people there. And so let's not lose that over a game, over a person or anything else like that. There's nothing wrong with being competitive and being in the moment, right, and being really loud and being an unbelievable fan. And providing an unbelievable atmosphere for our players and really hard to play for their players. But at the end of the day, don't lose what we've created and what they've created for so long, which is a really unique place with really, really good people that's really hard to play."

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Five things Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding said before facing LSU