No. 13 Mizzou hunting for an upset at No. 9 Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. (KMIZ)
No. 13 Mizzou will look to extend its winning streak to three games on Saturday, when the Tigers travel to face No. 9 Ole Miss in a high-stakes SEC showdown at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz and company are coming into Saturday's game after a dominant 27-6 victory over Texas A&M, while the head coach Pete Goulding and the Rebels are coming off of a commanding win over their own, in a 52-17 routing over Vanderbilt.
Although the Tigers are 5-1 on the season coming into Saturday's game, this will be the biggest test that Coach Drink and his squad will have faced in the 2026 season.
"We need to play our best, most complete game to even be in the game," Drinkwitz said in Tuesday's meeting with local media.
MU will hope its rushing attack will be the difference-maker against a Rebels team that's struggled defensively, in 2026. Running back Jamal Roberts is fresh off of a career-best 222-yard and two-touchdown performance against Texas A&M and will continue to carry the load for the Tigers in Oxford.
Ole Miss' rushing defense has been a major vulnerability for the Rebels in 2026, as they rank last in the SEC and near the bottom of all of college football nationally in that category. Per game, Goulding's defense allows roughly 195 rushing yards per game.
But, defensively, Mizzou will have its hands full with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and this high-tempo Rebel offense.
"This game’s a whole new challenge," Drinkwitz said. "It’s a totally different challenge with the quarterback, the running back, wide receiver, and the tempo."
Saturday's game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will also serve as a reunion, of sorts, for lots of guys. Of course, the national storyline is the big return of MU quarterback Austin Simmons, receiver Cayden Lee and cornerback Chris Graves Jr. to their former home, in Oxford.
However, there's more connections in this game, beyond just that trio. Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy played at Mizzou for one season, and is still in touch with Roberts to this day. Additionally, former Tiger wide receiver La'Damian Washington is the wide recievers coach for the Rebels, these days.
Although this game will come with some emotions, on both sides, Coach Drinkwitz wants his team to focus on the bigger picture.
"The biggest thing is to not make it bigger than it is," he said.
No. 13 Mizzou and No. 9 Ole Miss will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CT. You can watch the game on SEC Network, as the Tigers will look to improve to 8-1 against the Rebels all-time.
