The Ole Miss football team was left out of the initial 12-team College Football Playoff field projected to compete for a national championship.
Lane Kiffin’s squad sits at No. 16 in the first playoff poll of the 2024-25 season after dropping two games early. Ahead of the current campaign, Kiffin and company worked the transfer portal and added a slew of coveted prospects from premier collegiate institutions to pair with a solid class of players at the high school ranks and a veteran-heavy group of returners.
While the Rebels (7-2, 2-2 SEC) have looked immensely more talented, particularly on the defensive line, than in years past, a pair of three-point losses — one at home versus Kentucky and the other at LSU — have put the team’s back against the wall with no room for error the rest of the way.
As Kiffin and company look to run the table over the next three games, Ole Miss will be met with heavy resistance. On Saturday, the Rebels’ playoff viability will hinge on a must-win matchup versus No. 2 Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC). Fortunately for the Rebels, that game is being played at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
November 5️⃣ #CFBPlayoff Selection Committee Rankings 🏈🏆
1️⃣6️⃣. Mississippi // @OleMissFB pic.twitter.com/WDeLMWBWIT
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 6, 2024
Georgia currently sits as a 2.5-point road favorite in the contest. However, Ole Miss appears to be hitting its stride at the right time. The Rebels are coming off two double-digit wins over conference counterparts, with the most recent victory being a 63-31 blowout at Arkansas.
Veteran quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for a career-high 515 yards against the Razorbacks and tied Eli Manning and Matt Corral for most passing touchdowns in a game (6). He did so with a shorthanded crew of weapons as well as a banged-up offensive line. Reliable wideout Jordan Watkins had a program-best five touchdowns and 254 receiving yards on Saturday.
Defensively, the Rebels mounted a collective 18 sacks in the last two outings and have wreaked havoc in the backfield. JJ Pegues, Walter Nolen, Jared Ivey, and Princely Umanmielen have proven to be more than formidable in the trenches as linebackers TJ Dottery, Suntarine Perkins, and Chris “Pooh” Paul, Jr. have held opposing offenses at bay.
Though Ole Miss has encountered the injury bug over the past few weeks, the team is expected to see standout wide receiver Tre Harris and tight end Caden Prieskorn back in action in a do-or-die battle.
Saturday’s matchup between the Rebels and Bulldogs will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ABC and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
The full CFP top 25 can be found below:
- Oregon
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Miami
- Texas
- Penn State
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- BYU
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- Boise State
- SMU
- Texas A&M
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Iowa State
- Pittsburgh
- Kansas State
- Colorado
- Washington State
- Louisville
- Clemson
- Missouri
- Army
