It’s finally October.
That means we can quit arguing about summer hype and start talking postseason math.
Brett McMurphy dropped his latest Ole Miss playoff projections on Monday, along with where he has every other team going bowling.
Good news for folks in Oxford. The Rebels are in.
McMurphy has Ole Miss sitting at No. 6 in the 12-team field.
That’s a nice spot for a team that still has to deal with a Missouri squad playing its best football of the year on Saturday.
Alabama lost at home, and McMurphy figures the officials helped. Oklahoma beat Texas on a late field goal. UCLA got its upset too. And Kentucky’s Will Stein? He went for two in overtime.
Road from Oxford to Pasadena
McMurphy summed up the week by saying preseason predictions are “going up in flames.”
The Rebs’ projection didn’t burn, though.
A No. 6 seed comes with a home game in the first round. McMurphy has No. 11 BYU coming to town during the Dec. 18-19 window.
If that holds up, Ole Miss fans get another home playoff game.
Win that one and the travel plans get a lot more interesting.
Picture a Hotty Toddy chant rolling across Southern California. Somebody out there might need a translator.
The Rebels would head to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2027, to face No. 3 Ohio State in Pasadena, Calif.
Missouri stands in way first
None of that California dreaming matters if the Rebs trip up Saturday.
Missouri won’t be an easy out. The Tigers are trending up at the right time.
Funny thing is, McMurphy doesn’t have Mizzou anywhere near the playoff.
He’s got the Tigers facing Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on Dec. 31 in Tampa, Fla.
On paper, that’s a playoff team against a bowl team. Saturday will sort out which projection was too generous.
The top of the bracket belongs to Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and Alabama in that order. McMurphy has the Bulldogs beating Miami for the title on Jan. 25, 2027, in Las Vegas.
UCLA busted into the field as the No. 10 seed. Seven teams joined his projections for the first time, too, including South Carolina.
Where rest of SEC lands
Mississippi State first, because of course.
The Bulldogs are headed to the Texas Bowl in Houston to face Baylor on Dec. 31. Not a bad December trip.
Here’s where the rest of the league’s projected teams landed:
- Georgia: No. 1 seed, Peach Bowl quarterfinal vs. No. 8 Texas in Atlanta
- Alabama: No. 4 seed, Fiesta Bowl quarterfinal vs. No. 5 Notre Dame in Glendale, Ariz.
- Ole Miss: No. 6 seed, hosts No. 11 BYU in the first round
- Texas: No. 8 seed, hosts No. 9 Texas Tech in the first round
- Kentucky: Citrus Bowl vs. Iowa, Jan. 2 in Orlando, Fla.
- Tennessee: Gator Bowl vs. Louisville, Dec. 30 in Jacksonville, Fla.
- LSU: Music City Bowl vs. Michigan, Dec. 30 in Nashville, Tenn.
- Missouri: ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Wisconsin, Dec. 31 in Tampa, Fla.
- Oklahoma: Las Vegas Bowl vs. Oregon, Dec. 31 in Las Vegas
- Florida: Liberty Bowl vs. Kansas State, Jan. 2 in Memphis, Tenn.
- Texas A&M: Birmingham Bowl vs. Virginia, Dec. 29 in Birmingham, Ala.
- South Carolina: Gasparilla Bowl vs. Virginia Tech, Dec. 18 in Tampa, Fla.
- Projections change every Monday. Missouri gets the first crack at changing this one.
