Somewhat quietly, one of the bigger games on college football slate this weekend is happening at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium between No. 9 Ole Miss (4-1, 2-1 SEC) and No. 13 Missouri (5-1, 2-1 SEC).
Both squads enter with one loss and need a win this weekend to maintain a reasonable path to the College Football Playoffs. However, alongside the high-stakes of the matchup are the storylines revolving around each team’s roster.
Rebels’ star running back Kewan Lacy will be facing his former team for the first time since leaving Missouri, following his true freshman season in 2024. Meanwhile, former Ole Miss starters Austin Simmons, Cayden Lee and Chris Graves Jr. all return to Oxford for the first time since they entered the transfer portal, following the Rebels’ deep run through last year’s playoffs.
Saturday’s kickoff between the Rebels and Tigers is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. Ole Miss entered the week as six-point home favorites.
Ahead of the Rebels' latest pressure-filled matchup, Ole Miss On SI predicts which team wins and why.
Tyler Komis
Welcome to the gauntlet that is the College Football Playoffs….or at least the very real warmup version of it. The loser of this weekend’s game in Oxford isn’t mathematically out of the 12-team race, but it’s going to be a loss that will be immensely hard to overcome looking at Ole Miss’ and Missouri’s schedule.
As far as the actual matchup is concerned, going into the game, Missouri has played better on the defensive side of the ball and matches the Rebels’ offensive firepower with Austin Simmons and Jamal Roberts leading the way. The Tigers’ rush attack could have the ability to give the Rebels a long afternoon, and we’ll really find out if Ole Miss improved enough from its nightmare performance defending the run against Florida. Ole Miss doesn’t have to completely shut down Mizzou’s ground game, it more than likely won’t, but if it can limit Roberts and the rest of the production in the backfield, the Rebels should give themselves a real chance at picking up a critical win.
In my mind, that’s going to be the key to victory for Ole Miss. I believe this game will come down to the final few possessions and whichever offense has the ball last in that scenario. Given the large sample size we’ve seen of Trinidad Chambliss in those types of situations, I have a hard time picking against those results.
Ole Miss 34, Missouri 31
Matt Galatzan
All of the talk is going to be about the return of Austin Simmons and Cayden Lee to Oxford, and Kewan Lacy facing off against his former team. However, there needs to be more talk about Missouri's defense, or more specifically, its pass rush. The Tigers have 18 sacks this year, which is tied with Texas for third in the SEC behind LSU and Tennessee. Meanwhile, the Rebels are No. 1 in the SEC in sacks allowed with just five. If the Rebels can protect Trinidad Chambliss and slow down a balanced Missouri offense, they will be in good shape. I think they do both just enough to get the win.
Ole Miss 30, Missouri 27
Jaydon Koss
I think Ole Miss will take home a hard-fought victory against former Rebels’ quarterback Austin Simmons, wide receiver Cayden Lee and cornerback Chris Graves Jr. and the rest of the Missouri Tigers. Simmons, Lee and running back Jamal Roberts are likely to give head coach Pete Golding and his defense trouble, leading to a “bend-don’t-break” type of performance, following a bounce-back game against Vanderbilt for the Rebels’ defense.
However, I’m comfortable predicting Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, wide receiver Deuce Alexander and running back Kewan Lacy to outplay Simmons, Lee and Roberts and give the Rebels a high-scoring ranked win in Ole Miss’ homecoming game.
Ole Miss 38, Missouri 31
Zion Trammell
Ole Miss and Missouri feature star-studded quarterbacks in Trinidad Chambliss and Austin Simmons. This has the makings of a high-scoring affair, so whichever quarterback can protect the ball better could decide the outcome. I think Chambliss and Kewan Lacy play their best games of the year, and Ole Miss gets by with a win.
Ole Miss 31, Missouri 28
Cooper Ferguson
Back in the Vaught, I want to see a great response to the blowout victory in Nashville.
All will go well if Trinidad Chambliss plays as he has so far. After a second-half respite in the Vanderbilt game, Kewan Lacy is primed for a breakout game in the 2026 campaign. I fear the talent and connection between Austin Simmons and Cayden Lee, but I do not see the Rebels dropping a game at VHS this season.
Ole Miss 38, Missouri 31
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