CFP Rankings: Where Does Ole Miss Football Land?
The road to the College Football Playoff has been laid out, and the committee released its first round of rankings on Tuesday.
The Ole Miss Rebels find themselves at No. 16, just ahead of 7-1 Iowa State and just behind 6-2 LSU. This ranking in the Top 20 tends to support the idea that Ole Miss still controls its own destiny in terms of reaching the CFP, as long as it wins out in the regular season.
In total, eight teams from the Southeastern Conference found themselves in the initial CFP rankings, and you can view the entire Top 25 below with SEC teams indicated in bold.
1. Oregon (9-0)
2. Ohio State (8-1)
3. Georgia (8-1)
4. Miami (9-0)
5. Texas (7-1)
6. Penn State (7-1)
7. Tennessee (7-1)
8. Indiana (9-0)
9. BYU (9-0)
10. Notre Dame (7-1)
11. Alabama (6-2)
12. Boise State (9-0)
13. SMU (8-1)
14. Texas A&M (7-2)
15. LSU (6-2)
16. Ole Miss (7-2)
17. Iowa State (7-1)
18. Pitt (7-1)
19. Kansas State (7-2)
20. Colorado (6-2)
21. Washington State (7-1)
22. Louisville (6-3)
23. Clemson (6-2)
24. Missouri (6-2)
25. Army (8-0)
In comparison to the other major polls (Associated Press and Coaches), Ole Miss' ranking according to the CFP is the same as the AP and four spots lower than their mark in the Coaches.
The biggest news for Ole Miss (outside of its own ranking) is that this week's opponent in the Georgia Bulldogs are ranked at No. 3 in the first installment of these CFP rankings, giving the Rebels a major opportunity for a key win in their own playoff hunt on Saturday.
That also comes with a massive challenge, however, as the Bulldogs stand in Ole Miss' way of receiving a CFP bid. It is once again a win-or-go-home scenario for the Rebels, in terms of reaching the playoff, and they will need to bring their A-game in Oxford on Saturday.
Kickoff between the Rebels and Bulldogs is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.