Ole Miss Poised for Possible Breakthrough in Race for College Football Playoff

The Ole Miss Rebels are one of the trendiest picks to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history this season.

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The Ole Miss Rebels are one of the trendiest picks to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history this season.

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The Ole Miss Rebels have not seen this level of hype for a season in over a decade, and they are looking to meet those expectations with a College Football Playoff berth this fall, one that would mark their first appearance in the field in school history.

Recently, ESPN released a story celebrating "100 days to college football," and the Rebels are all over the article that highlights Heisman contenders, potential playoff byes and first-time playoff contenders.

In fact, in the final of those categories, the Rebels were the top team on the list, meaning they have officially captured the attention of America when it comes to the race for the CFP in 2024. You can read an excerpt from the piece below.

1. Ole Miss: The Rebels have the talent and the schedule, as veteran quarterback Jaxson Dart returns (23 passing touchdowns, five interceptions last year), and Ole Miss skips Alabama and gets Georgia and Oklahoma at home.-- Heather Dinich

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The Rebels are one of three SEC teams who made this list of 10 first-time playoff contenders, joined by the Missouri Tigers (No. 2) and Tennessee Volunteers (No. 5).

Other categories in this story highlight quarterback Jaxson Dart as a legitimate Heisman contender, Lane Kiffin as a "coach to watch" and Suntarine Perkins as a breakout player. Ole Miss is also included on the list of teams who have a chance to earn a first-round bye in this season's edition of the Playoff, should they win the Southeastern Conference for the first time since 1963.

Put all of that together, and the Rebels seem to have a special run ahead of them in 2024. Of course, the games themselves have to actually be played (and players have to remain healthy), but Ole Miss could be poised to finally break through and reach the CFP this season, immediately making this one of the strongest campaigns in school history.

Ole Miss returns a load of talent from its 11-win season in 2023, and leading the charge is the aforementioned Jaxson Dart. The Rebels also appear to have completely revamped their defense in the transfer portal this offseason, securing some of the top names on the market like defensive lineman Walter Nolen and edge rusher Princely Umanmielen.

As we have highlighted in this space all offseason, Ole Miss holds a lot of strong cards in its hand entering the fall. Now, it just has to put it all together.