DALLAS—The expanded 12-team playoff opens the door for getting in the postseason bracket for college football teams that have been good but maybe not great.
A team like Ole Miss.
The Rebels have played in two New Year’s Six bowls the last three seasons including when it went 11-2 last season.
The losses were to powerhouses Alabama and Georgia.
The Bulldogs humbled the Rebels 52-17, exposing roster deficiencies.
“One of the big things is I just thought…there was a length and size issue,” fifth-year coach Lane Kiffin said Monday on the first day of SEC Media Days.
Georgia and Alabama had recruited athletes that had baseline measurements.
Kiffin hit the transfer portal hard to measure up better.
“I do think we addressed that,” he said. “That game was glaring. …We’re going to look better coming off the bus.”
Georgia and Ole Miss play again this season, this time in Oxford on Nov. 9. The Rebels other toughest SEC games appear to be at LSU and home against Oklahoma.
If it’s playoff or bust for Ole Miss, quarterback Jaxson Dart isn’t saying that.
“We don’t really look at it that way,” Dart said. “We’re focused on right now and being able to have the mindset of being 1-0 each and every day.”
Dart worked out with wide receiver Tre Harris and defensive end Jared Ivey before they traveled to Texas to represent the program.
“Just having the approach every day matters and everything else will take care of itself,” Dart said.
Kiffin made the rounds for interviews just four days after his father, former NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, passed away. He called his father his “superhero.”
He said his father wanted him to “show up and do his job…That’s what I’m trying to do here.”
Ole Miss loaded up again in the transfer portal to surround Dart with more talented teammates.
That includes defensive linemen Walter Nolen (Texas A&M), edge Princely Umanmielen (Florida), wide receiver Juice Wells (South Carolina) and cornerback Trey Amos (Alabama).
“We obviously pulled unbelievable players out of the portal,” Ivey said. “You can see it. Anybody can see it. Right now the focus is building that culture, loving each other, coming together so we can play for each other. That’s the mark of a great team.”
SEC Network analyst Ben Watson said on air Monday that there’s pressure on Ole Miss and Kiffin this year after getting beaten up front against the Bulldogs.
“You look at his roster, this is the time for them,” Watson said. “This is their opportunity I think to make noise. Ole Miss, you look at their schedule, they get a lot of their big games at home that will be their toughest games of the year.”
Watson is picking Ole Miss to play Georgia, where Watson played tight end.
“It’s setup for a chance to have a good team, but there’s a lot of work in that,” Kiffin said. “There’s a lot of noise but that means nothing.”
Dart said Ole Miss has been an “up and down,” program.
Expectations are high for what could happen this season.
“It’s definitely a really fun time,” he said, “to be an Ole Miss Rebel.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Can Ole Miss join Georgia football in College Football Playoff?
Athens Banner-Herald
