Who knows if expanding the College Football Playoff is actually going to upset the established order and give us a surprise winner or not. But it’s gonna be a hell of a good time watching underdogs scrap like they’ve got nothing to lose… because they don’t.
Maybe it’s Ole Miss Rebels head coach and offensive guru Lane Kiffin’s storybook redemption after the infamous tarmac firing from the USC Trojans just over a decade ago. Maybe it's the flashy playcalling wizardry the Rebels put on display en route to the school’s first 11-win season in program history and a victory over Penn State in the Peach Bowl to cap a historic 2023 season.
Hell, maybe it’s just Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Jaxon Dart’s glam rock, single-eye black look. Whatever the reason, Ole Miss has become the dark horse to watch in the first year of the expanded College Football Playoff.
Outside shots to lift the trophy like the Rebels are the reason the playoff was expanded in the first place. Maybe with the right moves and a little luck, they really can shock the world and take home the championship for the first time since 1960.
Rely on a new and improved defense
Ole Miss only lost twice in 2023. But both times, to the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide, they lost by double digits to teams with superior defenses. In order to compete with the behemoths in the SEC, Lane Kiffin and company knew they needed to get bigger and better on the defensive side of the ball, which only finished 42nd in the country in 2023.
And that’s what they’ve done, bringing in the No. 1 overall transfer portal haul in the country, with the majority of the additions dedicated to the defense. The Rebels added big names like defensive tackle Walter Nolen, at one time the No. 1 overall recruit in the portal from the Texas A&M Aggies, and edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, the No. 12 overall recruit from the Florida Gators. They also managed to hold on to senior defensive linemen JJ Pegues and Jared Ivey, the team’s top-two leading tacklers from the 2023 season.
RELATED: Three keys to Georgia winning the CFP
Combining fresh talent with veteran experience could see the Rebels turn their defensive fortunes around, and keeping this revamped unit on the field, healthy, and gelling will be key, especially in October and November, when Ole Miss will run through the heart of a challenging SEC.
Score even more in 2024
With all the hype surrounding Ole Miss in 2024, especially their offensive firepower, it may be surprising to learn they only finished 16th in the country in total offense for 2023. But the Rebels are returning the second-most veteran players in the SEC, including several offensive stars from their celebrated 2023 campaign. That experience could equal even greater output in 2024.
QB Jaxon Dart is in his third year under Lane Kiffin and is a Heisman Trophy hopeful. Wide Receiver Tre Harris, a top-five wideout in the country, fellow receiver Jordan Watkins, who caught for over 700 yards in 2023, and veteran tight end Caden Prieskorn, will be joined by fellow top-20 receiver Juice Wells from the South Carolina Gamecocks to form what may be one of the most experienced and formidable set of outside weapons in the country.
RELATED: Three keys to Texas winning the CFP
Aided by a new defense that should be able to get off the field faster and more frequently, this group of experienced stars could be poised - and will need - to move up the ranks and become a top-10 offense in the country.
Take advantage of a manageable schedule
It’s hard to call any schedule in the newly expanded SEC “easy”, but some avoid more daunting opponents than others, and Ole Miss’s is ranked second easiest in the conference for 2024. Only two teams in the SEC are ranked higher in the preseason than the No. 5 Rebels in the Sporting News' composite poll, the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs and the No. 3 Texas Longhorns. Ole Miss only has to play one of them, a matchup against Georgia at home on Oct. 26th. They also avoid playing Alabama this season, the team that usually ends the Rebels' playoff hopes, with the Crimson Tide having a dominant 55-9-2 overall record.
RELATED: Three keys to Alabama winning the CFP
In fact, it’s possible that Ole Miss will be favored or a coin-toss in every game this season with the exception of the Georgia tilt. If Ole Miss is going to give themselves a real chance at winning the playoff and hoisting the national championship trophy this year, winning all the games they should win (including a tricky test on the road to the LSU Tigers, a team they narrowly defeated in a 55-49 shootout at home in 2023) could go a long way toward at most getting one of the coveted bye rounds by winning the SEC championship, or at the very least, a favorable seeding that could see them face a more manageable opponent in the first round.
Ole Miss expects to be better on both offense and defense in 2024, and they have a much more favorable schedule than last year, when they won 10 regular season games. It still feels like long odds, especially with teams like Georgia, Texas, Ohio State, and Oregon lurking, but if there’s a long-shot team that can generate enough magic to make a fairytale run at glory, it may just be these Ole Miss Rebels.