The SEC’s opening weekend was as clean as it gets, and the AP Top 25 reflects it. After a 16-0 start across Week 1, nine SEC teams that were already in the preseason poll are still sitting in the rankings heading into Week 2.
The new poll came out Tuesday instead of its usual Sunday release because Labor Day Weekend pushed games deep into Monday, with one contest not even wrapping until Tuesday morning after a power outage. But the delayed timing didn’t change the shape of the top of the poll: Ohio State is No. 1, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas and Indiana.
One of the weekend’s only ranked-on-ranked games came Sunday in Nashville, where Ole Miss beat Louisville 41-38 in a neutral-site matchup. That result kept both teams in the poll, with Ole Miss landing at No. 9 and Louisville checking in at No. 24.
LSU also made a loud statement in one of the weekend’s most visible games. With a primetime Saturday kickoff and College GameDay on hand for the Battle of Death Valley against Clemson, the Tigers rolled to a 51-10 win and climbed from No. 11 to No. 8.
The full top 25 has Oregon at No. 6, Miami at No. 7, then LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M rounding out the top 10.
Oklahoma is No. 11, Alabama No. 12, and Texas Tech, USC and BYU follow.
Penn State sits at No. 16, with SMU, Tennessee, Washington, Utah, Iowa, Houston and Mizzou completing the rest of the ranked field.
The poll also includes several teams receiving votes, led by Boise State with 86 and Florida with 83. Michigan picked up 69, followed by Arizona, Memphis, South Carolina, Western Michigan, Pittsburgh, Navy, UCLA, Virginia Tech, Illinois, James Madison, Minnesota, Colorado, Auburn, Arizona State and Vanderbilt.
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LSU's SEC Fight Just Put Ole Miss In An Awkward Spot
A new legal fight around LSU has quietly put Ole Miss in an awkward position, because the Southeastern Conferences move to amend its federal lawsuit now goes beyond the school itself and into the broader question of how the league can police its own membership. The SEC is asking for authority to expel LSU and seeking a temporary restraining order to protect its governance rights, a sign the dispute has escalated from a simple personnel issue into something that could affect the way the league operates.
For Ole Miss, the uncomfortable part is obvious: Lane Kiffin is already part of the picture, LSU has recently played a game under his coaching, and the case has pulled in former NFL players who are not currently on the roster as part of the ongoing disagreement. With the SEC also scheduling a meeting to consider terminating LSUs membership, the Rebels are watching a fight that is no longer just about one program, but about the leagues leverage, its rules, and how much mess it is willing to absorb before this is settled. [Read more 🡒]
Viral Ole Miss Fan Just Changed How Everyone Sees That Moment
ESPN cameras caught one Ole Miss fan in a tense moment during the Rebels game against Louisville, and the clip took off fast on social media. The reaction belonged to Sara Smith, an Ole Miss alumna whose stressed look became the kind of fleeting sideline shot that the internet cant resist turning into a whole story.
Smith later leaned into the attention with a humorous TikTok response, which only added to the fascination around the viral moment. Her quick online follow-up gave the clip a second life, and the discussion around it has stretched beyond the game itself, with viewers even picking apart a video screenshot that appears to show a wedding ring. [Read more 🡒]
Lane Kiffin Keeps Giving Ole Miss Fans A Reason To Boil
Lane Kiffins exit for LSU arrived at the worst possible time for Ole Miss, landing just before the Rebels were set to compete in the college football playoff and prompting his removal from program access. For a fan base that had already spent years living through Kiffins combustible style, the timing only sharpened the sting, turning what could have been a routine coaching move into another messy chapter in a relationship that never lacked drama.
Since then, LSU has wasted little time acting like a program built around its new coach, ranking No. 2 in the transfer portal with 43 new players, including several former Ole Miss players. Kiffin has also remained a lightning rod off the field, from a profane halftime speech to public criticism from media voices like Paul Finebaum, which means Rebels fans have had plenty to monitor even after he left Oxford. [Read more 🡒]