Football
Saturday’s most important games to Rebels
If Ole Miss is going to sneak into the College Football Playoff, these are the games that will have the biggest impact on the Rebels’ hopes.
The fate of Ole Miss football is out of the Rebels’ hands.
No. 14 Ole Miss wrapped up its regular season schedule Friday with a 26-14 win against Mississippi State and now must hope some higher ranked teams are unable to avoid chaos like No. 7 Georgia did in an 8OT epic game against Georgia Tech.
Luckily, there are a plethora of great games to watch as we wait to see if the Rebels might be able to sneak into the College Football Playoff.
Rivalry Saturday is officially here…
And it's ALLLLL on the line. 😤#SECFB 🗓️⤵️ pic.twitter.com/lBZTRpahbR
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 30, 2024
Here are the three most important games on Saturday and why they matter to the Rebels’ slim playoff chances:
Auburn at No. 13 Alabama, 2:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN+
Why it matters: Based on the latest playoff rankings, the SEC has three playoff teams. Ole Miss needs that number to grow to four and for the Rebels to be fourth-highest ranked SEC team in the rankings. To do that Ole Miss needs Alabama to lose the Iron Bowl.
No. 15 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson, 11 a.m., ESPN
Why it matters: If the Gamecocks win, in theory, the teams ranked behind Clemson would all move up one spot. That’d put Alabama in the top 12 and Ole Miss one spot back. Plus, a South Carolina win would improve the Rebels’ resume since they have a 27-3 road win against the Gamecocks.
No. 3 Texas at No. 20 Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m., ABC
Why it matters: Ole Miss needs chaos, but not complete and total chaos. The winner of the revived Lone Star state rivalry will play for a SEC Championship and automatic playoff berth. Texas A&M taking that place instead of Texas would be too chaotic. If the Aggies were to win the SEC and get a playoff berth, there’s a good chance Georgia (SEC runner up), Texas and Tennessee all still make the playoff and all three loss teams start making plans to play in bowl games.
24 HOURS. 🚨
The renewal of the Lone Star Showdown. @TexasFootball. @AggieFootball. For a spot in the #SECChampionship, and so. much. more. #ItJustMeansMore pic.twitter.com/d7q3NIpc0s
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) November 30, 2024
Honorable Mention: No. 7 Tennessee at Vanderbilt, 11 a.m., ABC
Why it (kind of) matters: The Volunteers losing would be helpful as it would add them to the mix of three-loss SEC teams clustered around the playoff bubble. But Tennessee would probably still be in the mix for a playoff spot with a loss.
| Sat, Aug 31 |  | vs Furman | W, 76-0 |
| Sat, Sep 7 |  | vs Middle Tennessee | W, 52-3 |
| Sat, Sep 14 |  | @ Wake Forest | W, 40-6 |
| Sat, Sep 21 |  | vs Georgia Southern | W, 52-13 |
| Sat, Sep 28 |  | vs Kentucky | L, 20-17 |
| Sat, Oct 5 |  | @ South Carolina | W, 27-3 |
| Sat, Oct 12 |  | vs LSU | L, 29-26 (2 OT) |
| Sat, Oct 26 |  | vs Oklahoma | W, 26-14 |
| Sat, Nov 2 |  | @ Arkansas | W, 63-35 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Georgia | W, 28-10 |
| Sat, Nov 23 |  | @ Florida | L, 24-17 |
| Sat, Nov 30 |  | vs Mississippi State | W, 26-14 |