Week 9 turned the AP Top 25 into a mess, and Ole Miss was one of the teams that came out looking better for it.
The Rebels backed up their place in the national picture with a 45-15 home win over Auburn at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, a result that kept them at No. 12 in the latest poll and sharpened the spotlight on what comes next. With Georgia coming to town next weekend, Ole Miss suddenly has one of the biggest games left on its slate sitting right in front of it.
That matchup will carry even more weight now that the rankings around the Rebels have started to crack. Ohio State, which entered Saturday at No. 2, took the biggest hit of the weekend in a 30-18 loss to USC.
The Buckeyes tumbled to No. 11, while the Trojans jumped into the poll at No. 18.
SMU also took a damaging loss, falling 30-27 to Syracuse and dropping out entirely after starting the day at No. 19.
The shakeup didn’t stop there. Northwestern, ranked No. 20, lost 34-26 to Oregon and slipped just outside the top 25, landing 26th in votes.
Oregon picked up the second-most votes among teams not in the rankings. Arizona’s 34-26 loss at No.
13 Texas Tech pushed the Wildcats down to No. 22, while Texas Tech held firm at No. 13.
Oklahoma State’s 51-49 loss to Iowa State knocked the Cowboys out of the poll, and Wisconsin was also sent packing after a 30-0 shutout loss to Iowa.
At the top, though, several teams strengthened their grip. Georgia handled Florida 27-8 and moved up to No.
- Utah kept rolling with a 49-25 road win over Cincinnati and climbed to No.
- UCLA blanked Nevada 27-0 and rose to No.
- Indiana survived Minnesota in overtime, 23-16, and slid to No.
- Notre Dame beat Navy 35-13 and moved to No.
4, BYU edged Arizona State 27-20 and rose to No. 7, and Miami stayed unbeaten in the AP’s eyes by hanging on against North Carolina, 38-35, to remain No. 1.
For Ole Miss, the path ahead is obvious. The Rebels just delivered one of their best performances of the season, and now they get Georgia at home with a chance to add another statement win to a résumé that is already getting stronger by the week. A victory next Saturday would do more than just change the conversation - it would give Ole Miss another major boost in the race for the College Football Playoff and likely send the Rebels even higher in the rankings.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Got A Ranking Check Fans Needed To See
The SEC race tightened again in Week 9, and Ole Miss did its part to stay in the thick of it. The Rebels handled Auburn 45-15 behind a big day from Trinidad Chambliss, who found the end zone three times, while the rest of the leagues upper tier kept moving in ways that will matter for the next ranking release.
No. 3 Georgias 27-8 win over Florida and No. 11 Texas road victory at Mississippi State both added more pressure near the top, and South Carolinas win at Oklahoma only added to the shuffle. For Ole Miss, the result was the kind of clean, convincing performance that keeps the Rebels in the conversation, even if the bigger question now is how far the latest weekend will move them when the polls are updated. [Read more 🡒]
LSU's Ranking Suddenly Carries More Weight Before A Massive Showdown
A wild weekend across the AP Top 25 has reshuffled the college football conversation just in time for a massive showdown, and Ole Miss has every reason to be watching closely. Seven ranked teams went down, creating movement throughout the poll and putting fresh emphasis on how the rest of the top tier is viewed heading into the next round of high-stakes games.
Ohio States loss to USC was one of the most notable results, with ripple effects that reach well beyond the Big Ten and into the broader College Football Playoff picture. Several teams climbed, others slid, and a few cracked the rankings for the first time this season, which means the margin for error is getting even thinner as the schedule tightens around the Rebels. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Got A National Title Endorsement Fans Will Notice
A fresh national-title conversation has Ole Miss in the mix, with Danny Kanell naming the Rebels among five programs he believes have quarterbacks capable of leading a championship run. The former quarterback and current college football analyst put Ole Miss alongside Miami, Georgia, USC and Notre Dame, a notable nod for a program that has spent recent seasons trying to break through from contender to true title threat.
The Rebels place on that list adds another layer of intrigue around their quarterback situation, especially with Gunner Stockton, Trinidad Chambliss and Jayden Maiava also drawing mention in the broader discussion. Kanells framing does not settle anything, but it does underline how much quarterback play still drives the national conversation, and how Ole Miss has positioned itself squarely inside it. [Read more 🡒]