Especially after the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season, the conversation around 9-3 SEC teams started to swell. The question wasn’t whether that noise would show up - it was how many of those teams might actually force their way into the bracket.
After Week 10, though, one thing stands out: Ole Miss should not be in that mix.
The Rebels have the kind of résumé that gets people talking, with wins over LSU and Missouri. But those victories don’t wipe away the rest of the picture, especially not after a 42-7 loss in November against the toughest opponent they’ve faced.
That’s where the argument gets messy for the SEC crowd, because the usual response always comes back to strength of schedule. And yes, SOS matters in the CFP race.
It absolutely should. That’s part of why Ole Miss entered last week ranked several spots ahead of one-loss Texas Tech and Wake Forest.
But strength of schedule is not a free pass to ignore ugly losses.
One bad loss can be softened if the rest of the profile is strong enough. Multiple losses, especially when they come in rough fashion, are harder to excuse.
Ole Miss has a blowout loss to 5-4 Florida, a loss to Texas, and another blowout loss, this time at home and much later in the season. That’s a lot to overlook, even with those wins over LSU and Missouri.
And those wins haven’t exactly been enough to move the needle for other teams beating three-loss opponents, either.
The Rebels still have Oklahoma, Wofford, and a losing Mississippi State team left on the schedule, and Mississippi State is doing it without star quarterback Kamario Taylor. But even if Ole Miss handles those games, the damage from the earlier collapses doesn’t just disappear.
The team now carries what looks like an unremovable stain, one that feels a lot like what hung over 2025 Texas and 2024 Alabama. That stain kept those teams out of the playoff field, and after what happened against Georgia, Ole Miss fans should be ready for the same outcome.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Fans Just Saw Pete Goldings Biggest Problem Again
The Georgia game offered another harsh reminder of why Ole Miss has spent so much of this season trying to patch up its defense on the fly. In a 42-7 loss, the Rebels gave up 481 total yards and were especially vulnerable on the ground, where Georgia piled up 295 rushing yards and controlled the game from start to finish.
Pete Goldings unit has been fighting this issue all season, and the numbers only sharpen the concern. Ole Miss is now allowing 165.1 rushing yards per game after this matchup, a troubling trend for a defense that has struggled to hold up against physical run games and has not found a consistent answer yet. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Got A Brutal Reality Check After Georgia Loss
Cole Cubelics weekly SEC breakdown offered a blunt reminder of where Ole Miss stands after the loss to Georgia, with the Rebels landing among the weekends most closely watched teams in a slate that also featured Alabamas road win at LSU, Texas handling Missouri and Tennessee rolling past Kentucky. His analysis dug into the details of how those games were decided, from offensive execution to defensive adjustments, and Ole Miss was part of the conversation for all the wrong reasons.
For a Rebels team trying to measure itself against the leagues elite, the Georgia game became more than just another setback. Cubelics observations pointed to the kind of control the Bulldogs were able to exert on both sides of the ball, and that leaves Ole Miss with a clear standard to chase as the season moves on. The bigger question now is how the Rebels respond when the margin for error shrinks and the competition keeps getting tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Heads To Oklahoma With A New Problem Up Front
Ole Miss heads into Saturdays trip to Oklahoma still juggling its offense up front, with running back Kewan Lacy set to miss a third straight game and right guard Patrick Kutas also ruled out, according to head coach Pete Golding. Kutas was hurt in the previous game against Georgia, leaving the Rebels to adjust again along the line as they prepare for a 3:15 p.m. CT kickoff on the SEC Network.
There is at least some good news in the mix, with Deuce Alexander expected to be available despite a minor injury. Even so, Ole Miss is walking into a difficult road test with another piece missing in the backfield and another starter unavailable in the trenches, the kind of combination that can force a staff to rethink both protection and balance before the opening series even arrives. [Read more 🡒]