Ole Miss had a well-timed bye week in Week 5 to reset after an emotional early-season rollercoaster saw them beat Lane Kiffin and LSU before traveling to Gainesville, where they were dominated by Florida.
As the Rebels come out of their bye week with a Week 6 game in Nashville against Vanderbilt, they got some good news with the expected return of star running back Kewan Lacy. Lacy left the Rebels win over LSU in the first half with an undisclosed injury and was unable to play in the loss to Florida. He's expected back against Vanderbilt after taking advantage of the bye week to get healthy.
"Obviously [Lacy] rested all last week," Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said in his Monday press conference. "Was good for a solid week, not practicing. Practiced last night, came back. Did individual, did some team sessions. A lot of that was non-contact last week. Fully anticipate having him this week."
Lacy's return a much-needed addition to offense
The Ole Miss run game struggled in Lacy's absence, as backups JT Lindsey and Makhi Frazier combined for 93 yards on 23 carries across the two games after Lacy's injury. Against Florida, star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss ended up the team's leading rusher with 44 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, and he will be glad to have his star running back alongside him in the backfield again this week in Nashville.
Lacy has 191 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season on 39 carries, coming off a 2025 campaign in which he was the Rebels' bell cow with more than 306 carries for 1,564 yards and 24 touchdowns. Golding noted that they'll be cognizant of Lacy's workload as they work him back into the running back rotation, noting Lacy's "not going to take the toll of 40 or 50 snaps."
The Ole Miss rushing attack, even with Lacy, has not been as dynamic in 2026, leaning more on Chambliss' arm early in the season. But they'd like to have a more balanced attack and will hope Lacy's return provides that going forward.
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