Ole Miss woke up Sunday with a bruised ranking and a bigger question hanging over its season.
After getting rolled 42-7 by Georgia on Saturday night, the Rebels slid seven spots in the latest AP Top 25 and landed at No. 19. They entered the weekend at No. 12, but the loss did nothing to convince voters they belonged anywhere near the top tier.
Georgia, meanwhile, took back the No. 1 spot after collecting 53 of 70 first-place votes. The Bulldogs jumped past Miami, which dropped to No. 5 after a 31-24 loss to Notre Dame.
Utah moved up to No. 2, and the Fighting Irish climbed to No. 3.
For Ole Miss, the ranking drop is only part of the damage. The Rebels are 6-3 overall and 4-3 in SEC play, and with three losses now on the board, the room for error is basically gone.
Saturday’s game in Oxford was a rough one from the start. Ole Miss fell behind 28-0 by halftime and never found a way to get comfortable on offense while Georgia controlled the line of scrimmage. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss went 18-of-34 for 170 yards with an interception, and he was sacked five times as the Bulldogs kept disrupting everything the Rebels tried to build.
Georgia finished with 482 total yards, including 295 on the ground. Ole Miss managed just 252.
The loss also snapped Ole Miss’ 16-game home winning streak, ending the Rebels’ run of success at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium and doing it in especially ugly fashion. It was the first defeat there since the 2024 season.
The rest of the SEC had its own rough Sunday in the poll. LSU fell nine spots to No. 24 after losing 31-13 to Alabama, Kentucky dropped five places to No. 13 after a 34-6 defeat to Tennessee, and Missouri fell out of the rankings altogether after losing to Texas.
Elsewhere, Tennessee made one of the week’s biggest moves, climbing seven spots to No. 9 after beating Kentucky. Alabama moved up to No. 7 after its road win at LSU, and Texas rose to No. 8 after a 34-20 victory over Missouri.
The weekend’s biggest statement may have come in South Bend, where Notre Dame knocked off then-No. 1 Miami 31-24. The Irish built a 24-3 lead before holding off a late Hurricanes push, and quarterback CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
Oregon also made a major leap after beating Ohio State 41-28 in Columbus. The Ducks erased a 14-point deficit and scored 38 straight points on their way to the win.
Oregon entered the rankings at No. 18, while Ohio State dropped from No. 11 to No. 21.
Ole Miss still remains in the AP Top 25, but the bigger picture is getting harder to ignore. The Rebels will need a much stronger finish to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation, and Tuesday’s committee rankings should give a clearer read on where they stand.
Next up is a trip to Oklahoma, where the Rebels face a Sooners team coming off a 23-7 win over Florida. Ole Miss won’t have much time to sit with the Georgia loss, and it will need a far better showing to avoid another setback.
For a team that entered November with real postseason hopes, Sunday’s seven-spot drop stings. After what happened against Georgia, though, the ranking might be the least of Ole Miss’ problems.
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Ole Miss Commit Lands National Spotlight Before Ever Reaching Oxford
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Tuggles selection by the Navy All-American Bowl Selection Committee means he will take part in the annual East vs. West matchup at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Jan. 9, 2027. The honor is part of a nationwide tour celebrating 100 Navy All-Americans, and for Ole Miss it is another reminder that the Rebels have secured a commitment with national-level attention already attached. [Read more 🡒]