Ole Miss Rebels avoids getting screwed by College Football Playoff selection committee but have tough path to the championship
Lane Kiffin’s departure didn’t end up hurting Ole Miss and their playoff seeding, but Rebels still have to beat both Georgia and Ohio State to make the title game
It’s official. The Ole Miss Rebels have earned the 6-seed in the College Football Playoff. It turns out Lane Kiffin’s departure to the LSU Tigers didn’t end up hurting the Rebels’ playoff seeding (he’s still the biggest villain in the sport), so that was refreshing to see from the committee. However, the playoff path is still extremely difficult based on how things played out after conference championship weekend.
Ole Miss Rebels have extremely difficult path in College Football Playoff
New Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding is going to have his hands full in the College Football Playoff. Now that the Rebels have locked in the 6-seed it’s nice that they get to face off against a Tulane team they just smoked by five touchdowns earlier this season. Yes, the Green Wave have looked better in recent weeks, but the Rebels should have advantages at virtually every roster spot over Tulane.
However, after they likely defeat Tulane, the Ole Miss Rebels’ path gets extremely difficult (as you can see in the post below). They’ll have to face off against a red hot Georgia Bulldogs team that the Rebels already lost to earlier this season. And this version of the Bulldogs has taken their pass rush to near elite levels down the stretch this year, more than doubling their sack rate in the last five games.
After facing Georgia — if they somehow survive beyond that point — Ole Miss would have to face one of Miami, Texas A&M, or Ohio State. Both the Buckeyes and Texas A&M rate higher in strength of record, strength of schedule, and game control metrics compared to Ole Miss. Miami isn’t far behind either.
Yes, any and every playoff path is difficult, but looking at how the bracket played out Ole Miss could have benefitted greatly from simply being ranked one spot higher where Oregon landed. If that were the case they would face a James Madison team who lost their only power conference game (to Louisville) and just struggled to finish off Troy in the Sun Belt Championship. Then they would get to face the weakest first round bye team in Texas Tech (who rates far lower by every meaningful metric compared to the top three teams).
Still, Ole Miss has all the weapons they need to stay in every single game throughout the College Football Playoff. They rank top fourth in offensive adjusted EPA per play and yards per play among all playoff teams thanks to phenomenal play from quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy. Their defense hasn’t allowed more than 26 points in a game since the middle of October. Ole Miss is ready to compete for it all, and it would be absolutely beautiful if they won the championship without the traitorous Lane Kiffin.
We’ll be back with more Ole Miss Rebels coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
