Top 5 Rebels? Ole Miss Ranked Highly in Way-Too-Early Top 25

The Ole Miss Rebels have cracked one writer's top five entering 2024 season.

The Ole Miss Rebels continue to gain offseason momentum in another edition of a way-too-early Top 25 released last week.

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic released his updated list on Jan. 30, and the Rebels came in at No. 5 in the country, up from his previous ranking of No. 8. You can read his reasoning for the high ranking below.

© Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

"The Rebels were already returning QB Jaxson Dart, WRs Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins and TE Caden Prieskorn. Then Lane Kiffin spent December raking in established SEC defensive transfers like Texas A&M DE Walter Nolen. After star RB Judkins defected, he picked up LSU’s (formerly Notre Dame’s) Logan Diggs. And then he recently landed LG Nate Kalepo and RG Julius Buelow from Washington’s Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line, moving Ole Miss to No. 1 in 247Sports’ portal rankings."

As he notes, much of the hype surrounding Ole Miss not only revolves around an already-elite roster returning from an 11-win season in 2023, but it also focuses on the incoming talent that Lane Kiffin has secured via the transfer portal, one of his primary recruiting focuses since arriving in Oxford.

ESPN Projects Ole Miss to Reach 12-Team College Football Playoff in 2024

That 11-win campaign last season was Ole Miss' first in program history, and it was capped off with a win in a New Year's Six game in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. That performance helped the Rebels reach this No. 5 ranking, coming in behind only the Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes, Texas Longhorns and Oregon Ducks.

The Rebels are widely-believed to be in strong standing to reach the College Football Playoff this season as well, the first year where the field will be expanded to 12 teams.