There are only two ranked-on-ranked matchups on the Week 8 college football slate. While Houston-Utah will draw plenty of eyeballs, the SEC will be locked in on Ole Miss-Texas in Austin.
The Rebels (5-1, 3-1 SEC) have only one ranked foe on their schedule after this battle with the Longhorns. If they can handle business on the road, they will feel very secure in their College Football Playoff positioning. Meanwhile, the Longhorns (4-2, 1-2 SEC) would be all but eliminated from the CFP chase if they suffered a third consecutive defeat.
ESPN’s Greg McElroy broke down the matchup on his Always College Football program. He believes Ole Miss becomes a real SEC Championship contender with a victory.
“If Ole Miss wins, the national narrative is that Ole Miss is a real SEC title contender… they would be 4-1 in the league,” McElroy said. “Here’s the detail that makes Ole Miss very dangerous: they don’t play Kentucky or Tennessee this year… when Georgia comes to Oxford on Nov. 7, that game is essentially a play-in for Atlanta.”
On the other side of the coin, McElroy thinks a Texas loss is something the nation is salivating about. A win, though, would thrust them back into the CFP picture because of their early season triumphs against Ohio State and Tennessee.
“For Texas, a loss is the story the whole country has just been waiting to write… [and] the conference title’s gone in October,” McElroy claimed. “If Texas wins, the national narrative is, ‘the most dangerous two-loss team in the country just reminded everybody why [they’re dangerous]’… you beat Ole Miss… you now have three teams that you’ve beaten all power rated in the top 12.”
Hear more from McElroy here:
The Rebels and Longhorns kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night (ABC).
