How Did College Football's Week 8 Impact the Ole Miss Rebels?

What did Week 8 do for the Rebels, and how did it shift the landscape of college football?

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) throws a pass in the fourth quarter of the Longhorns' game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Oct. 19, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels were on a bye this week, giving the team time to get healthy and survey the changing landscape of college football. It was a fantastic weekend that had some surprising results.

Let's dissect the weekend slate and talk about its impact for the Rebels for the rest of the season.

Georgia 30, Texas 15

The game of the week wasn't much of a game in the first half after the Georgia defense did some damage, making star QB Quinn Ewers look quite pedestrian.

The narrative going into the game was that Texas was the only elite team in the SEC, but now we will have to wait to see if the Longhorns can rebound. Texas heads to Nashville for a bout with the Vanderbilt Commodores. Georgia has a bye before heading to Jacksonville to play Florida.

The Rebels are going to have their hands full if the Bulldogs play like that on defense when they come to Oxford on Nov. 9. The Texas offensive line was dubbed one of the best in the country, which is an area where the Rebels have struggled mightily.

Tennessee 24, Alabama 17

This was another defensive game where the Vols failed to score in the first half for the third week in a row. Alabama seemed to have the Vols right where they wanted them after Nico Iamaleava struggled connecting with the deep ball, but Dylan Sampson was a workhorse for the Volunteers in the second half, racking up over 100 yards and two touchdowns to get Tennessee its second straight win over the Tide at Neyland Stadium.

The Rebels don't play either of these teams this season, but now Alabama and Ole Miss have two losses before November. These are two teams who had eyes on the College Football Playoff and now are on the outside looking in.

Missouri 21, Auburn 17

Mizzou put together a game-winning drive late in this one, giving Auburn the ball with less than a minute left and no timeouts.

This game really hurts the Rebels as a two-loss Mizzou would have created another crack in the door for Ole Miss to reach the CFP. On Nov. 5, the day the CFP rankings come out, we will see how the committee looks at both of these squads.

The Rebels in some ways control their own destiny, however. If they win out it, would be hard to exclude them from the field, but they still need some help. Georgia will be a bear in November, but taking care of an Oklahoma team coming off a rough home loss is top priority inside the Manning Center this week.

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