Does Ole Miss still have a shot at the College Football Playoffs? Find out what Lane Kiffin thinks
OXFORD, Miss. — Does Ole Miss still have a chance to make it into the College Football Playoffs? After the loss to Florida Saturday in Gainesville, most everyone on the planet would have told you there was simply no way. However, later that day college football did what college football does and surprised us with upsets among the top teams in the hunt for CFP contention.
We saw No. 7 Alabama lose to Oklahoma, 24-3; Auburn defeat No. 15 A&M, 43-41 in 4OT; and No. 5 Indiana lose to No. 2 Ohio State, 38-15.
If you look at the ESPN Power Index, Ole Miss is still sitting at No. 6.
But even so, how would it be possible for the 8-3 (4-3 SEC) Rebels to still have a shot at the 12-team playoffs? Because this is college football and anything can happen. That’s the short answer.
But the better explanation is that Georgia, with two losses, could potentially suffer a third if they were to lose to Georgia Tech Friday. And three-loss Alabama plays Auburn in the Iron Bowl, and anything can happen in that rivalry game. And now that the SEC title game has been narrowed down to Georgia vs. the winner of the Texas A&M/Texas game, it would not be out of the realm of possibility for Georgia to lose a third game.
If you look at the CFP rankings predictions from ESPN’s Heather Dinich, you see she has the Rebels at No. 13.
That would mean Ole Miss still has a chance. They would need some things to fall their way — and they need to hammer State, first and foremost. Earlier this season, I wrote about two and three-loss teams and where they have finished in the end-of-season-rankings for the last 25 years. It’s an interesting read. You’d be surprised at the three-loss teams who have finished top 12.
Lane Kiffin was asked Monday if he has talked to his team about the playoffs since the loss.
“It’s a new age, now. I usually don’t ever speak about those things (Playoffs) to the teams because it’s one week at a time. I did, a few weeks, ago say, ‘Hey, if that’s what motivates you and gets you to prepare better and stuff,’ (so I) have talked about that before with them. I would’ve thought after the game that we were out. But after so many different things happened, with us being the early game, and the percentages now saying that’s alive, I did tell them that.”
Lane Kiffin
Again, just like every must-win game since the Rebels’ loss to LSU, Ole Miss has to defeat Mississippi State to keep the Rebels’ hopes alive for playoffs. Coach Kiffin believes it is to the team’s advantage that they get to play on Friday ahead of all the games the following day, in effect, creating an opportunity for more eyes to be on Ole Miss.
But he also believes a game against your in-state rival should be reason enough to play well and finish strong.
“There should be so much motivation to keep the Egg Bowl trophy here, win this game and play really well. If that’s added and helps them to know the playoffs are still alive and they kind of get the first show to show everybody on a national stage, as opposed to a Saturday game where these people that make these decisions don’t see all the games because there’s so many going on, (then) you’ve got a shot to show everybody.”
Lane Kiffin
Tune in to The Rebel Walk Tuesday evening to find out where Ole Miss sits in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. Rankings are released at 7:00 p.m. CT.
Buckle up, Rebs! There’s a lot riding on the Battle for the Golden Egg!
Next Up:
Ole Miss and Mississippi State kick off at 2:30 p.m. Friday. The game will be broadcast on ABC. Hotty Toddy!
David Walker
David is the consummate true-freshman quarterback, first pioneering the position only a year after college freshmen were given varsity eligibility by the NCAA in 1972. In 1973, the left-handed all-state gunslinger from Sulphur, Louisiana started for the Texas A&M Aggies and earned the All-Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year award as selected by the league’s coaches. David is the first college quarterback ever awarded Freshman of the Year in the NCAA. He was only 17, and still holds the NCAA record as the youngest starting quarterback in college football history. He wore No. 8 at A&M in honor of one of his football heroes, Archie Manning.
In becoming the winningest quarterback ever at A&M, David was converted from a dual-threat QB to a triple option trailblazer. The two-time team captain led three record-breaking offenses that changed the direction of football at A&M forever, establishing once and for all the winning tradition that the Aggies had so-long desired.
As a high school head coach in Houston in the late ‘80s, David stationed his quarterback in the shotgun formation, having him reading defenses and throwing hot routes at a time when such offensive schemes were frowned upon by traditional fans and coaches. One of his quarterbacks tossed 57 passes in a single game, which stood as the all-time Greater Houston Area record for many years.
As you can tell from his bona fides, David is extremely qualified as our expert on all things Quarterback at Ole Miss. Enjoy his exclusive analysis only here at The Rebel Walk!
