Ole Miss probably has the best shot of any three loss SEC team on the College Football Playoff bubble, other than Alabama. The Rebels are ranked No. 13 and if the cards fall right, could without question land in the playoff.
The tricky thing is it requires help from everybody else. They aren’t fortunate enough to play in the SEC title game to control their own fate. That said, it’s not impossible for them to find a way in.
Lane Kiffin has been vocal about why his team deserves a shot at the CFP this year. One thing’s for sure, if the Rebels do land in the field, they can’t squander it. They can’t get in, lose badly or to a team they should beat.
Because all that hootin’ and hollerin’ about getting in would have been for nothing. First-time teams in the CFP typically don’t do well. With this being an expanded playoff, that could shift that narrative. That said, Ole Miss can’t fall victim to that, especially after putting up the fight it did to plead its case.
What Ole Miss needs to crash the College Football Playoff party this year
First and foremost, the Rebels need Boise State to lose and Clemson to lose. If Boise State loses that would drop them out of the CFP and open up a spot. Because of the CFP selection committee’s favoritism toward the SEC, they’d almost certainly get bumped ahead of Miami.
They would also need Georgia to beat Texas. If the Bulldogs secure the SEC title and beat Texas for the second time this year, that makes Ole Miss’s 28-10 win over UGA look better. Regardless of what happens in the Big 12 championship game, the Rebels are ranked higher than both teams so the winner would be ranked No. 12.
In the ACC championship game, even if SMU loses, there’s a chance they don’t fall out of the 12-team playoff field as they’re currently ranked No. 8 and would have just two losses.
The College Football Playoff field is pretty much set. Not much can happen this week that would drastically shift the rankings. Alabama is probably secured in one of the last at-large spots.
The Rebels’ best chance to get in the CFP is a Boise State loss and Clemson loss. That would open up one or potentially two at-large spots and Ole Miss could leap frog Miami to claim one of them.