Rebels Reach New Heights in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25

The Ole Miss Rebels are a Top 10 team this offseason, according to ESPN.

The Ole Miss Rebels continue to gain momentum in college football talking circles, seeing a bump up in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25 re-released on Tuesday.

The Rebels, initially ranked seventh on the list, came in at No. 6 this week after an impressive winter that not only retained a large amount of talent already on the roster, but also brought in a slew of newcomers from the transfer portal. You can view an excerpt from the story below.

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"After guiding the Rebels to the first 11-win campaign in the 118-year history of the program, coach Lane Kiffin is gearing up for what could be an even bigger season in 2024. Unexpectedly losing Judkins to Ohio State hurt, but Kiffin grabbed plenty of talent out of the transfer portal, especially on defense. ... The Rebels will play their two toughest opponents, Oklahoma and Georgia, at home."

Judkins' departure to Ohio State was one of the bigger storylines for Ole Miss in early January, but the retention of Ulysses Bentley IV, addition of Logan Diggs and potential growth of Kedrick Reescano still give the Rebels a strong push at the running back position.

As noted above, the new scheduling model in the Southeastern Conference following league expansion did Ole Miss some favors entering 2024. Although no game is easy in the SEC, the Rebels will get the Georgia Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners at home, and they will not face the likes of the Alabama Crimson Tide.

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With the Rebels trending towards being a Top 10 team to start the season (and potentially Top 5), their odds of making the newly-expanded College Football Playoff continue to look strong here in mid February.