Don’t look now, but Ole Miss is 3-0. Its latest win was a 61-21 rout of Tulane in Oxford.

We knew that Lane Kiffin’s team wouldn’t have trouble scoring points, but keeping opponents off the scoreboard was their struggle in 2020. Despite ranking 3rd in the SEC in points per game and 1st in yards per game, the Rebels were bottom of the conference in yards and points allowed. This year, they’ve yielded an average of 20.5 points through 3 games.

Granted, that’s been against Louisville, Austin Peay, and Tulane, but relative to last year, almost anything is an improvement. If Kiffin and the Rebels beat Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, though, then serious thought may need to be given to them as not just the team to beat in the SEC West but a possible College Football Playoff team.

The SEC Network’s Peter Burns is buying into the hype. Check out who the “SEC Now” anchor and “SEC This Morning” co-host has among his top 4 teams in college football after Week 3:

Yep, that’s Ole Miss at No. 4 behind Oregon and his joint top teams in Alabama and Georgia.

Keep in mind going into Saturday the often-repeated stat that Nick Saban has never lost to one of his former assistant coaches. The Rebels fell short in an offensive shootout last year in Oxford, but Kiffin will look to get revenge and beat his former boss.