Today is the last Friday before the first game week of the 2026 Ole Miss football season, which means it’s the final Friday of ALL GOOD, BRO vibes until October 2nd. That’s the day before Ole Miss plays my favorite opponent, Bye Week.
To soak in the non-existent anxiety and freedom from the emotional prison 18-to-22-year olds (-ish) will put us in for the next 4+ months, let’s fire up another round of lists covering this and that. Instead of the standard 10 lists of 10, we’re trimming the fat and featuring
6 lists of 5 because Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy, respectively, have those convenient jersey numbers.
Top 5 concerns heading into September 6th
This is a revisit of what I wrote in April at the beginning of spring practice, and everything still holds up.
1. Offensive Tackles
If there is good news, all signs point to Terez Davis locking down the left tackle spot, which means Ole Miss needs to figure out one tackle spot instead of two. WE CAN BUILD ON THIS.
If the season started while you’re reading this sentence, Tommie Kinsler would likely start at right tackle. A few months ago, he would’ve been a lock based on Carius Curne deciding to see how many of his teammates and coaches he could piss off and things of that nature.
However, Kinsler hasn’t been as consistent as hoped, and Curne has allegedly started to function like someone who cares about what he’s doing.
No matter who starts or rotates in at either tackle spot, none of the candidates have been the guy before, which means we don’t know how they’ll perform when things get real on September 6th against Louisville.
2. John David Baker as The Guy
I wrote about his work as East Carolina’s offensive coordinator last December, which dramatically improved the Pirates’ offense but had notable flaws. How does he handle the pressure cooker of an SEC job on a team with playoff expectations while coaching against elite coaches and players?
3. Wide Receiver Production
The top three returning receivers in terms of receptions are:
- Deuce Alexander (44)
- Kewan Lacy (29; not a receiver)
- Caleb Odom (19)
Alexander, Odom, and the horde of transfers will need to replace the 225 receptions, 3,388 yards, and 19 touchdowns Harrison Wallace, De’Zhaun Stribling, Cayden Lee, Dae’Quan Wright, and Winston Watkins all piled up in 2025.
4. Offensive Line Depth
Ole Miss was wildly thin up front last year and managed to get away with it. They’re going to be wildly thin up front this year, and can they get away with it again?
5. Pete Golding as The Guy
I’m just going to plagiarize what I wrote in April:
Kinda wild that the mostly first-year head coach checks in as the fifth concern heading into 2026. Granted, the sample size of him in charge is only three games (playoff games though!), but nothing indicated he was in over his head.
Like everything in this list, we won’t know how it will go until September 6th and beyond.
Top 5 Names on the Roster
1. Nascar McCoy
1. Nascar McCoy
1. Nascar McCoy
1. Nascar McCoy
1. Nascar McCoy
5 Important Spoonerisms on the Roster
- Fam Kranklin
- Huke Lasz
- Plake Burchase
- Cohntay Jook II
- Puntarine Serkins
5 SEC Teams Most Likely to Be Butt
In no ranked order:
- Vanderbilt
- South Carolina
- Mississippi State
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
Of the remaining teams, Missouri, Florida, and Auburn have the most potential to work their way into the Butt List.
5 Unsolicited Book Recommendations
These are based on what I’ve recently read at Casa de Gray.
1. Dead Wake – Erik Larson
This is about the sinking of the Lusitania that eventually factored into the United States’ entry into World War I. When you read this and The Guns of August, it is impossible to overstate how dumb Germany’s leadership was. Just absolute idiots pulling every idiot lever they could find.
2. Manhunt – James L. Swanson
Covers the lead-up to Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the assassination events, and the hunt for John Wilkes Booth, who was another idiot.
3. The Wide Wide Sea – Hampton Sides
Documents James Cook’s third and final voyage around the world. If you find yourself in 1776 England, and James Cook wants you to join his ship, do not do it! It will not go well!
4. The Splendid and the Vile – Erik Larson
Covers Winston Churchill and his inner circle during Germany’s bombing campaign of England from 1940-41. Again, German leadership was made up of morons across the board, but Churchill and his inner circle were a remarkable group.
5. The Warmth of Other Suns – Isabel Wilkerson
Tells the story of the Great Migration in which 6 million Black Americans left the South for cities in the North and West Coast from the 1910s to the 1970s. Wilkerson tells this massive story through the lives of three people who left Mississippi (1937), Florida (1945), and Louisiana (1953).
BONUS REC:
Rasputin – Antony Beevor
Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra — mega idiots.
5 Dolly Parton Songs (that will get progressively more NO ONE LOOK AT ME)
RIP.
