We know what the current Ole Miss football coaches and players think of the initial College Football Playoff rankings.
From head coach Pete Golding to the trio of Rebels made available Tuesday, the message was clear and simple.
“We’ve got Georgia next. That’s all that matters,” wide receiver Caleb Cunningham said at his Tuesday press conference. “We’re just focused on Georgia this week.”
Everyone else, though, is focused on the CFP rankings. It’s not like there’s some other vote being counted Tuesday night that’s important, right?
Ole Miss debuted at No. 10 in the initial CFP rankings released Tuesday night on ESPN. If these rankings set the playoff field, the Rebels would be in.
That would set up a rematch against No. 7 Texas in Austin in a first-round CFP game with the winner getting No. 2 Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals. As most Ole Miss fans remember well, the Rebels fell 34-27 to the Longhorns in Austin two weeks ago.
What this ranking tells us is what we already knew. If Ole Miss wins out, it’s in and that would include this weekend’s game against Georgia. A loss also may not end the Rebels’ playoff hopes. If upsets continue to shake up the rankings, the door for a three-loss SEC team could open.
That’s what makes college football so fun. And there’s a lot more fun to be had. Or at least time for it which is why what Ole Miss has said the last two days is worth fans understanding too.
“We’re going to take this thing one game at a time, one day at a time, and go out and look up in December and see where that thing is,” Golding said Monday. “We’ve got a lot of really quality opponents before then that we’re going to have to prepare for and play really well against.”
Here’s the full CFP top 25 rankings:
College Football Playoff Rankings
- Miami (8-0)
- Georgia (7-1)
- Utah (8-0)
- Indiana (8-1)
- Alabama (6-2)
- Kentucky (7-1)
- Texas (6-2)
- UCLA (8-0)
- BYU (7-1)
- Ole Miss (6-2)
- Notre Dame (7-1)
- Ohio State (6-2)
- Tennessee (6-2)
- LSU (6-2)
- Texas Tech (7-1)
- Wake Forest (7-1)
- Houston (6-2)
- Missouri (6-2)
- Iowa (6-2)
- USC (7-2)
- South Carolina (5-3)
- Arizona (6-2)
- Oregon (5-3)
- Florida (5-3)
- Boise State (7-1)
