By Billy Watkins
I posed the question to Ole Miss senior offensive lineman Caleb Warren: Can you imagine what Oxford would be like if the Rebels were hosts of a playoff game a few days before Christmas?
He paused several seconds before answering. “Well, honestly I hadn’t even thought about that possibility until just now,” he said. “This place is crazy already (on football Saturdays), but it would really becrazy if something like that were to happen.
“We hear all the playoff talk. And we talked during the summer as a team about the playoffs. And our expectations are a deep run in the playoffs, for sure. But after talking this summer, we’re not talking about it around here anymore. We’re just focusing day to day and trying to get better.”
The idea of Michigan visiting Oxford four days before Christmas was offered this week when On3’s Andy Staples — one of the most respected sportswriters in the country — released his 2024 12-team College Football Playoff predictions. He listed Ole Miss No. 8 and Michigan No. 9.
The way the playoffs are structured for the first time, the top four teams would enjoy first-round byes while the other eight teams face off according to seeding — No. 5 vs 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 9. Each of those games will be played on the higher seed’s home field.
Staples explained ranking Ole Miss No. 8 this way: “When no less an authority than Nick Saban says the Rebels have improved their lines of scrimmage through the transfer portal to a level that should make them competitive with Georgia and Alabama, we probably should believe him.”
And get this: In Staples’ world, the winner of Michigan-Ole Miss would meet the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the quarterfinal round at the Rose Bowl.
Staples’ Top 12 (in order) are Ohio State, Georgia, Florida State, Kansas State, Alabama, Oregon, Texas, Ole Miss, Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Boise State.
The first four spots automatically go to conference champions. His “first four out” are Penn State, Miami, Missouri and Utah.
The odds of Michigan and Ole Miss ending up in those exact spots are slim, of course. But it’s still the preseason, and it’s still fun to talk about.
Every team, not just Ole Miss, has acres and acres of hay to bale between now and December. But there are signs that can give Rebel fans hope of making the 12-team tournament.
***The 2023 Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll was a good measuring stick when trying to figure out the Top 12 in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
Eight of the top 12 teams ranked in the AP poll finished in the top 12 of the final CFP poll. Ole Miss is ranked 6th in this years AP poll.
The four who didn’t live up to billing a year ago were USC, LSU, Clemson and Tennessee. The teams that moved up and took those spots were Ole Miss, Oregon, Oklahoma and Missouri.
Missouri was the only team not ranked in the AP poll but would’ve qualified for a 12-team playoff.
***The elite teams in college football are stacked with talent and depth on the offensive and defensive lines — and have a difference-maker at quarterback.
Ole Miss checks all three boxes. I will write about QB Jaxson Dart next week before the Rebels open the season against Furman. For now, I will focus on the big ‘uns.
When I saw the Rebels’ O-line and D-line at their first preseason practice, I was stunned by their size — and their lack of bellies.
Used to, a 300—pound lineman wasn’t exactly streamlined. But with a few exceptions, they are now. Consider portal transfer Walter Nolen, the defensive tackle who came to Ole Miss via Texas A&M. He is listed at 6-foot-3, 305, but until you stand next to him you would never think he was that big. And the reason is, he has very little body fat. He’s sculpted. Most of Ole Miss’ linemen are.
***Ole Miss is a confident program.
No longer does winning 10 games seem impossible in Oxford. The Rebels won 10 in 2021 and 11 — for the first time in history — last season. And there is no doubt that this year’s roster has more talent and depth than either of those teams.
The legendary wordsmith Yogi Berra said baseball is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical. The same can be said for football. These Ole Miss players don’t think they can win, they know they can.
Let the hay baling begin.
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