One of the biggest wildcard games on Florida’s schedule for the 2026 season is the week four matchup with Ole Miss. On paper, if one had to do blind odds right now, Ole Miss is probably a touchdown favorite. But it will be the first SEC home game for Jon Sumrall, Ole Miss has had a ton of turnover, and the ESPN FPI metric only has Ole Miss as a 50.2% favorite.
The start time for this game could be anywhere from 3:30 to 8:00 PM, and based on an admission that Ole Miss coach Pete Golding made at SEC Media Days, the early the start time the better for the Gators.
Florida should make Ole Miss prove its defensive-line depth for four quarters
Obviously, the main talking point from Golding’s appearance in Tampa was his relationship with Lane Kiffin and the messy departure that led to Golding becoming the head coach during the Ole Miss playoff run that ended in the semifinals.
But moving forward, and more specific to Florida’s matchup with Ole Miss, Golding was asked a general question about how good he felt his defense would be for 2026. He talked about a weakness within the Ole Miss defense that had to make Jon Sumrall’s ears perk up:
“I think we're as talented as a defense that I've been around in a long time, and hopefully I felt like we learned some things off of last year's teams of where to focus on in the portal and making sure we added some older veteran guys.
That was up front. I really felt like we didn't feel like we had enough depth on the defensive line, especially inside last year to stay fresh late in games, and I felt like that really hurt.”
Hmm…
That sounds like a dream for Jadan Baugh to try and exploit, especially since Sumrall won’t be afraid to give him the ball 25 times if he has to.
Golding mentioned making some transfer portal additions to add depth. Let’s take a look at who Ole Miss added for 2026 along the defensive line:
Jordan Renaud - 295 snaps with Alabama in 2025. PFF grade of 56.4. 30 total tackles over the past two seasons.
Michai Boireau - The former Gator took 296 snaps last year. He did have the memorable interception against Mississippi State, but most Florida fans would not classify him as an impact player.
Jonathan Maldonado - Has the potential to be a really solid player and had five sacks and 38 total tackles last year. But that was with Nevada in the Mountain West, not the SEC.
Jehiem Oatis- 258 snaps with Colorado last year netted nine total tackles.
Blake Purchase- 351 snaps with Oregon last year netted him two sacks along the EDGE.
The point is that while Ole Miss feels like they added depth along the defensive line for 2026, that depth is going to have to leap what they showed in 2025.
Because if they don’t, Baugh could be set up for a monster day to propel Florida to the upset.
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