The regular season is rapidly winding down, but the energy in Oxford is elevating as Ole Miss is on the precipice of earning its first-ever College Football Playoff bid.
“Trinidad, Trinidad, throw another dime. Life is good in Oxford on island time,” rang out at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday amid the Rebels’ 49-0 shutout against the Citadel. The Reggae-style jingle by X user Portal House Studios is emblematic of what is shaping up to be a special season for Ole Miss. On Tuesday, Lane Kiffin’s Rebels (9-1, 5-1 SEC) may have dropped one spot to No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings but are still firmly in the conversation to crack this year’s bracket.
If the playoff were held today, Ole Miss would host No. 10 Texas in the opening round. Action for the 12-team field is scheduled to kick off with one game on Friday, Dec. 19, while three other contests occur the next day. The top four teams will earn a first-round bye.
THE LATEST PROJECTED CFP BRACKET IS HERE 🙌🏆
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Chambliss, after having a rough outing in a 30-14 win over South Carolina, completed 29 of 33 passes for 333 yards and three touchdowns against the Citadel, leading an Ole Miss offense that totaled 603 yards and seemingly clicked on all cylinders. Chambliss had been challenged by Kiffin to be more efficient in the non-conference matchup.
“Each week, I try to be as efficient as I can be, no matter who we’re playing. But it was definitely crucial this week because I didn’t have a good game against South Carolina,” Chambliss said. “I wanted to bounce back and be more technical and just have a better performance.”
Meanwhile, Rebel running back Kewan Lacy took a strong step toward making Ole Miss history. Lacy, with three scores on Saturday, earned his 16th rushing touchdown of the year. The feat tied the Missouri transfer with former Rebel Quinshon Judkins for the program’s most single-season touchdowns on the ground.
Pete Golding’s defense pounced on the Bulldogs, only surrendering 106 yards through four quarters of action. Rebel linebacker TJ Dottery led Ole Miss in tackles with seven, two of which were for a loss of yards. Andrew Maddox and Tyler Banks also had success getting to the backfield, recording 1.5 tackles for loss apiece.
Next up for Ole Miss is a home battle versus Florida, with a lot of story lines brewing. After former Gator head coach Billy Napier was fired on Oct. 19, Kiffin was quickly rumored as one of the top prospects to take the reins in Gainesville. Adding to the drama, Florida is also the team that put the final nail in the coffin of last year’s playoff hopes for the Rebels. Saturday’s matchup between the SEC schools will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN, along with participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
According to ESPN’s playoff predictor, Ole Miss currently has an 81% chance to be among the 12 teams vying for a national title. Now, a loss in one of the final two matchups would certainly hamper things, but the positive for Rebel fans is that Ole Miss is a heavy favorite to beat Florida and will be favored in the annual Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.
The full College Football Playoff rankings can be found below:
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Texas A&M
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Texas Tech
- Ole Miss
- Oregon
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- BYU
- Utah
- Vanderbilt
- Miami
- Georgia Tech
- Southern California
- Michigan
- Virginia
- Louisville
- Iowa
- Pittsburgh
- Tennessee
- South Florida
- Cincinnati
The rankings will be updated again next Tuesday.