Football
Rebels officially out of playoff contention
Ole Miss No. 13 in latest rankings and has no opportunity to improve its status. But did committee make mistake?
The College Football Playoff committee released its latest rankings Tuesday night and, unsurprisingly, Ole Miss was ranked outside of the top 12 with no path to moving up the rankings.
The Rebels were ranked 13th in the committee’s rankings, behind No. 11 Alabama and No. 12 Miami. Based on the current rankings and playoff criteria, Miami would be the last team out in place of the Big 12 Champion (Arizona State or Iowa State).
Based on the comments committee chairman Warde Manuel gave to ESPN during its live broadcast, there’s no way the committee will change the order of Alabama-Miami-Ole Miss.
“Any team that is not playing right now, we don’t have a data point to rearrange where we have those teams ranked, and so that is set in terms of how we see them going into the final week of championship week,” Manuel said. “There’s nothing that’s going to change for us to evaluate them any differently than we have now.”
So, that’s the nail in the “Ole Miss playoff hopes” coffin.
The Rebels’ case for a playoff spot
In the end, the Rebels needed to win one of the three games they lost. But there’s a fairly good argument for why Ole Miss fans should be upset about the committee’s decision.
#SpotTheBall @CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/iEdBnP0g1E
— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) December 3, 2024
ESPN’s David Hale lays out a great argument for why Ole Miss should’ve been ranked ahead of Alabama and Miami.
“So, on average, the Rebels’ losses weren’t as bad as Alabama’s. Their wins were markedly better than Alabama’s. Their underlying stats are better than Alabama’s. Their schedule strength was effectively equal to Alabama’s, Hale writes in his CFP Anger Index column. “So explain to us again why Ole Miss isn’t in the No. 11 slot, because we’re at a complete loss to understand it.”
Because it’s Alabama. That’s why.
Again, the Rebels only needed one more win and they’d be ranked up there with No. 7 Tennessee and there wouldn’t be a need to make a statistical-based argument.
It’s all moot at this point, though. Now, the Rebels will have to turn their attention to whichever bowl game they’ll play in.
| 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 |