Paul Finebaum Predicts Ole Miss Will Fail to Reach College Football Playoff

College football analyst Paul Finebaum is not buying the Ole Miss hype this offseason.

July 19, 2022; Atlanta,GA, USA; Paul Finebaum talks on a television set during SEC Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta Tuesday, July 19, 2022. Gary Cosby Jr.-The Tuscaloosa News Alabama At Sec Media Days / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK

If this offseason is any indication of the mood in Oxford, the Ole Miss Rebels are in a "playoff-or-bust" mentality.

Ole Miss returns a ton of talent from an 11-win team a season ago and made a huge haul in the transfer portal this offseason. With the College Football Playoff set to expand to a 12-team model this year, the odds of the Rebels reaching that pinnacle have only increased.

In fact, had this 12-team format been in place previously, Ole Miss would have made the cut in two of the last three years, reaching New Year's Six bowls in both 2021 and 2023.

The games still have to be played, but it appears that Ole Miss has a legitimate shot to reach the playoff this season. Not everyone is buying the hype, however, including SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum.

"I would say no," Finebaum said to Tulsa World's Berry Tramel. "Everyone in the media, Berry, we're on the older statesman side of it, is in love with Lane Kiffin. They think he's hilarious. I don't think he's that funny. I don't think his tweets are that interesting, and his coaching has been underwhelming at times. I'll believe it when I see it, and I haven't seen enough for me to believe right now."

Finebaum recently stated on an edition of "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning" that this season would be a "failure" for Kiffin and the Rebels if they did not reach the CFP, but he apparently doesn't like their odds to do so.

Kiffin has led the Rebels to two double-digit-win seasons since he arrived in Oxford, including a program-record 11-win campaign in 2023. Despite that level of success, Ole Miss has not been able to challenge for the SEC crown, but in this new age of the CFP, a conference championship won't hold as much weight when getting into the postseason field is the ultimate goal.

If Ole Miss can replicate the success it had a year ago, a College Football Playoff berth is a legitimate possibility, but the actual path will begin in late August. The Rebels will open their 2024 season at home against the FCS Furman Paladins on Aug. 31.