Ole Miss football might miss out on college football playoffs if it loses to Oklahoma

Oct 21, 2023; Auburn, Alabama, USA;  Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin and his son Knox battle for the ball before a game against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images
Oct 21, 2023; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin and his son Knox battle for the ball before a game against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-Imagn Images | John Reed-Imagn Images

The No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels head to Norman to take on another crucial SEC opponent, the Oklahoma Sooners, this Saturday.

Already coming off their first loss of the season against Georgia, the Rebels need a win to redeem themselves and also keep their college football playoff chances safe.

Since Ole Miss is 6-1, they have a strong chance at making the college football playoff.

However, if they lose this one to Oklahoma, it makes them a two loss team, putting those chances at a risk.

A two-loss team can still make a compelling case for a playoff berth, but Ole Miss doesn't have much strength of schedule in their remaining slate to make up for two losses against top SEC teams like Georgia and Oklahoma. What's worse is that only one of their six wins came against a ranked opponent in LSU, which was ranked No. 4 when Ole Miss took them down.

None of the opponents on the Rebels' remaining slate are ranked.

If Ole Miss loses to OU, they would have won just one out of three games against ranked opponents. It will be just as damaging to their college football playoff case as it sounds.

Additionally, there might be deserving SEC teams who could miss out on college football playoff, given the latest 12-team CFP format.

Ole Miss is one of the six SEC teams with six wins this season; besides Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Mizzou, Vanderbilt, and Oklahoma.

Either of these teams could beat Ole Miss to it with just one win.

And the Rebels will clearly strive to not be the team that has to sit at home despite being a two-loss team.

Essentially, Ole Miss will play for their college football playoff hopes this Saturday.

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