If the Ole Miss Rebels defeat Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, they’ll earn a College Football Playoff spot. That much is clear. What’s still a bit murky, though, is who the Rebels would face in the first round of the CFP. T
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach updated their postseason projections on Sunday, which include predictions for every CFP game.
The analysts saw eye-to-eye on 10 of the 12 seeds in the field (counting the Group of Five champion as the No. 12 seed). The only matchups they didn’t agree on were No. 6 and No. 7. Bonagura has Ole Miss ahead of Oregon at that spot, but Schlabach has the Ducks in front of the Rebels. Their differences lead to drastically different opponents for Ole Miss:
- Bonagura: No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Ole Miss
Schlabach: No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Oregon
- Bonagura: No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Ole Miss
Oregon beat No. 15 USC 42-27 this weekend while Ole Miss was on bye. The decisive victory could be enough to push the Ducks above the Rebels in the actual CFP rankings, like it did in Schlabach’s. If it does, that would set Ole Miss up to play Alabama, who is No. 10 in the CFP rankings, instead of currently unranked SMU, who would claim the No. 11 seed based on winning the ACC.
A matchup with the Crimson Tide could be daunting, but there’s still a chance for Ole Miss to impress the CFP committee and lock up a top-6 seed. The Rebels and Bulldogs battle in the Egg Bowl on Friday afternoon (12:00 p.m. E.T., ABC).
