Golding tells Ole Miss to move past LSU win

The 3–0 Rebels beat preseason No. 7 LSU 32–24 on Sept. 19 and take the result to Florida on Sept. 26.

The Pate State Wire DeskVerified reporting · full source list below · monitored by an editor

● Confirmed
SEP 20, 2026

The Pate State · Wire Graphic

3–0

Ole Miss record after the LSU win

32–24

Ole Miss victory over LSU

2–1

LSU record after the loss

01 · The NewsGolding tells Ole Miss to move past LSU win

Ole Miss beat LSU 32–24 on Sept. 19 to move to 3–0, add a marquee SEC win and force coach Pete Golding to guard against making it the season’s high point.

The Rebels beat an LSU team ranked No. 7 in both major preseason polls. Ole Miss began the season ranked No. 8 in the AP Top 25 and No. 9 in the AFCA Coaches Poll, and the victory gives the Rebels an early result for a playoff résumé. LSU fell to 2–1 after opening the season with wins over Clemson and Louisiana Tech.

Golding called the victory “sweet” but said beating LSU was not Ole Miss’ “Super Bowl.” The message puts the Rebels’ next SEC game inside the story: the Sept. 26 trip to Florida becomes an early test of whether Ole Miss can carry the result forward without treating it as an endpoint.

The win continues a strong recent stretch for Ole Miss, which finished 13–2 overall and 7–1 in SEC play in 2025. LSU went 7–6 overall and 3–5 in conference play last season. Those records help explain why the teams entered this game with different expectations, but the standings now give Ole Miss the cleaner start and LSU an early setback against a fellow preseason-ranked team.

Ole Miss did not need a perfect season to benefit from beating LSU. It needed a quality conference win, and it got one by eight points. The Rebels now carry the 3–0 record into Florida, with the playoff case stronger and the demand higher.

Golding’s warning was simple: LSU can be a résumé boost for Ole Miss without becoming the destination.

02 · The StakesThe Résumé Has to Keep Growing

That loss also directly pressures Josh Pate’s preseason bracket, which placed LSU in the playoff field at No. 8. LSU has already lost a valuable SEC head-to-head result, while Ole Miss has to show its biggest early win can lead to more than one marquee afternoon.

03 · The Watch ListWhat We're Watching

Can Ole Miss carry it forward?

The tell is the Rebels’ performance in the Sept. 26 trip to Florida after the 32–24 win over LSU.

Does LSU recover from the head-to-head loss?

The tell is whether the Tigers can add another quality result after falling to 2–1.

Sourcing & standards: Reporting via ESPN. Produced by the Pate State Wire Desk under the site's verification rules, monitored by an editor. Corrections are timestamped, never silent.