Pete Golding has Ole Miss in CFP semifinal amid coaching turmoil - ESPN

After No. 6 Ole Miss upset No. 3 Georgia 39-34 in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, Rebels athletic director Keith Carter tracked down coach Pete Golding on the field at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

«What you've done in the last three or four weeks has just been incredible,» Carter told Golding. «The multitasking, the short-term stuff and long-term stuff, and recruiting. It's just been awesome.»

For Carter and others involved in the Ole Miss program, what Golding and his staff have accomplished since he replaced Lane Kiffin as Rebels coach on Nov. 30 has been nothing short of astounding.

It's not only that Golding has guided the Rebels to their first two CFP victories and has them one win away from playing for their first national championship since 1962.

It's that Golding has accomplished that and more in perhaps the most difficult circumstances any coach in the CFP has ever faced — let alone as a 41-year-old former defensive coordinator with no previous head coaching experience.

The Rebels face No. 10 Miami in a CFP semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET/ESPN) with the winner advancing to the CFP National Championship on Jan. 19 in Miami Gardens, Florida.

«The only reason I'm a little surprised is just the distraction part of it,» Carter said. «But the guys [players] — it's just such a mature group. Pete and the staff have done an awesome job, but the leadership in the locker room has shown on the field. They've never flinched.»

In the 39 days since Golding was promoted, he has juggled a staff that includes assistants working at both Ole Miss and LSU; hired replacements for coaches who are leaving; largely kept the team's recruiting class