No. 6 Ole Miss is heavily favored to win its first every College Football Playoff game against Tulane on Saturday.
The reasons why are obvious. Ole Miss is an SEC team whose only loss was to Georgia, who trailed the Rebels for most of that game, and won an earlier game against Tulane by 35 points.
Tulane is in the AAC and has a loss to UTSA on its resume. It got into the playoffs as one of the highest-ranked group of five conference champions.
However, none of that changes the fact that Saturday’s game is a must-win for the Rebels.
Of course, it’s a must-win if Ole Miss wants a rematch with Georgia in the Sugar Bowl/quarterfinals.
But also a win proves to everyone that Ole Miss can still win without Lane Kiffin and is a notch for Ole Miss in the breakup with Kiffin.
Most importantly, a win would avoid having new coach Pete Golding compared to Matt Luke.
Think about what the fans’ reactions will be if Tulane beats Ole Miss. A lot of blame will be thrown at Kiffin for abandoning the team and sabotaging its chances in the CFP.
There will be those who will wonder if Ole Miss made the right decision in promoting Golding to head coach. Was it a rash, emotional decision to show the CFP committee the team wouldn’t change much?
All sorts of questions like that will be asked and every player that leaves Ole Miss in the transfer portal (it happens to every program nowadays) will turn another fan into a skeptic.
That’s why Saturday is a must-win game for Golding and Ole Miss.
Is that fair?
Not really. One game isn’t enough to make a sweeping declaration that something is going to work or not. But that’s not how fandom works in sports.
The hardcore fans live and die with each game and that’s what Ole Miss needs to avoid, sending those fans into the offseason questioning Ole Miss AD Keith Carter’s decision to promote Golding.
That’s like poison to a fanbase and the only cure is to win games, which won’t be available for almost eight months.
Final Thoughts
Personally, listening to Golding talk and hearing what some others have said about him, Golding is a good hire for Ole Miss.
Could there be a bump or two in the road? Sure. This is Golding’s first head coaching gig after all and a little bit of leeway should be provided.
That leeway will be easier to obtain with a win against Tulane on Saturday.
