I have to admit that over the past few seasons, I have been more or less a passive college football fan. Back when I worked for the University of Alabama, I didn’t miss a game. Not that I ever shouted “Roll Tide!” but I certainly had a greater interest in the sport when I lived in Tuscaloosa. Sports betting, NIL and transfer portals have taken a lot of the fun out of college football for me. But I have to admit, I’m more than a little bit excited for Ole Miss and what a likely spot in the College Football Playoffs means for the state of Mississippi. And I also have to admit that when last week’s clash between No. 3 Georgia and No. 16 Ole Miss started, I was not a believer. Weeks earlier, I had counted the Rebels out. After a shocking loss to Kentucky and a close defeat at the hands of LSU, I thought that Ole Miss’ football stock price would not have a chance to rise again until 2025. I was wrong. And I guess that’s what I get for being a passive fan. Even at halftime last week, I texted my brother, a Mississippi State fan, and I said that I didn’t know if Lane Kiffin’s defense had the stamina to repeat its stellar first-half performance in the third and fourth quarters. I had not been impressed with Jaxon Dart’s decision making early on. The defense and Dart proved me wrong. One never let up, and the other hobbled his way to lead the Rebels back into the playoff hunt. Most impressive, however, was Kiffin himself. He simply outcoached arguably the best coach in college football in Kirby Smart. Kiffin and Smart are both Nick Saban proteges, and they have known each other for a long time. One might expect Smart, who had not lost to a non-Alabama team in over 50 games, to have the edge. It just wasn’t so. Perhaps the most important aspect to this big win is the fact that Ole Miss made it look easy. They hardly broke a sweat. I’m being facetious, of course, but the win did not overly stress the Ole Miss roster. Ole Miss has claimed some pretty big victories over the past decade or so, but they often did so at some heavy expense, meaning that they paid for it in the following week or weeks, and as fast as they rose in the ranks, they would fall. That’s not likely to happen this year. They will enjoy a week off before playing back-to-back contests against severely weakened Florida and Mississippi State programs. Sitting at No. 11 in a 12-team playoff hunt, the Rebels could not be in a better position to cruise to the dance. This is not just good for Ole Miss and its fans. This is great for the entire state of Mississippi. Mississippi State will be sitting on the sidelines when it comes to the 2024-25 playoffs, so it would behoove everyone, no matter the affiliation, to get behind the Rebels in this run. There’s always a chance Ole Miss may lay an egg at the Egg Bowl in two weeks, and while many Bulldog fans would relish the role of the spoiler, that would not be good for the state. Let’s put politics aside these next three weeks and try to cheer the Rebels as high into the Top 10 as possible.
