Ole Miss entered the 2025 college football season with a lot of uncertainty. Lane Kiffin had indeed established a winning culture in Oxford, but the Rebels were essentially a brand-new team after a program-record eight players were taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, including star quarterback Jaxson Dart.
As a result, Ole Miss entered Week 1 with _ new starters. They got off to a hot start, but some fans remained skeptical, especially when quarterback Austin Simmons went down with an ankle injury.
Everything changed when Trinidad Chambliss took over under center in Week 3.
Chambliss took over when Simmons went down in Week 2 and not only maintained Ole Miss' elite offense; he elevated it. The Rebels are averaging 484.3 total yards per game as of Week 9, the 10th-most in the country. Considering their strength of schedule — facing three top-15 teams over their last four games — it is difficult to pinpoint a better offense at this point in the season.
Chambliss is not the NFL prospect that Dart was, but he has emerged as a Heisman candidate since taking over Kiffin's offense. The Ferris State transfer has 14 total touchdowns and just one interception since taking the reins while leading Ole Miss to a 5-1 record over its last six games.
Defensively, this is not the same Ole Miss team that went 9-3 in 2024 and fell just short of the College Football Playoffs. But as dominant as that squad was on paper, this iteration of the Rebels might be the best team that Kiffin has ever had in Oxford.
Ole Miss continues to collect doubters, but it keeps winning even when the odds are stacked against it. After yet another signature win in Week 9 against Oklahoma, the Rebels' 2025 College Football Playoff case is already sealed.
Ole Miss set College Football Playoff fate with Oklahoma win
Ten weeks into the 2025 college football season, arguably no team has a better resume than that of Ole Miss. The 8-1 Rebels have gone 4-1 in the SEC with marquee wins over LSU and Oklahoma, with the latter coming on the road.
Despite its record, fans have been critical of Ole Miss in recent weeks. Many were harsh on the Rebels' three-point win over Washington State as a 32-point favorite, only for them to suffer a 43-35 loss to Georgia the following week.
The Georgia loss only dropped Ole Miss to 6-1, but concerns about the team falling short against elite competition began to creep up. The Rebels have their win over LSU, but the Tigers have gone just 1-3 since Week 5 before firing Brian Kelly, making that win seem more like a bit of fool's gold.
Then came the Oklahoma game, when everything fell into place for Ole Miss.
No league is as unforgiving as the SEC, in which every game is a big game. With tough matchups after tough matchups, just one loss can send a team spiraling down a dark path. After their loss to Georgia, many wrote off Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss, who entered Week 9 as a six-point underdog.
Instead, the Chambliss-led Rebels took it right to the Sooners in Norman. One week after blowing a late lead against Georgia, Ole Miss out-scored Oklahoma 9-0 in the fourth quarter to secure its second top-15 win of the season. They subsequently rose to No. 7 in the Week 10 AP poll and remain in the SEC title conversation.
Ole Miss has its flaws, most notably defensively, but it overcame them once again to remain in the top 10. Despite the loss to Georgia, the Rebels are arguably the best team in the SEC.
Ole Miss' favorable rest-of-season schedule
The win over Oklahoma leads Ole Miss into a favorable stretch to end the year. The Rebels still have four conference games remaining, but they will be favored to win each of them and end the season in the 2025 College Football Playoffs.
The two-game road trip leads Ole Miss into a Week 10 home game against South Carolina. The Gamecocks began the season ranked in the top 15, but they will enter the matchup at just 3-5 and will be the underdog for the fourth consecutive game.
After South Carolina, the Rebels end the year against The Citadel, Florida and Mississippi State. Only one of their final four games will be on the road, and none will be against a top-25-ranked opponent.
The favorable schedule will be a double-edged sword, but it gives Ole Miss an inside track to making the 2025 College Football Playoffs. One loss will likely boot them out of the conversation, but the Rebels should win each game by double digits. Expect Lane Kiffin to have his team prepared after already receiving a scare for looking past an overmatched opponent.
Ole Miss is currently fourth in the SEC standings, behind Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia. Yet, they arguably have the easiest remaining schedule of the four and could realistically end up in the conference championship game in December.
Even if they don't, Ole Miss has already proven its worth on more than enough occasions. The 2024 team might have underwhelmed, but Kiffin has a chance to claim his first national title in 2025.
With its win over Oklahoma, Ole Miss has already solidified its College Football Playoff case. It is time to finally stop doubting them and view the Rebels as a potential national championship frontrunner.
