JJ Pegues says Ole Miss knows CFP hopes are on the line vs. Georgia: 'We know how big of a game this is'

Ole Miss hosts Georgia in a game that has the potential to make or break the Rebels’ College Football Playoff hopes. And they’re not running away from that reality in Oxford.

Defensive lineman JJ Pegues joined The Paul Finebaum Show on Friday in Oxford and was blunt about the reality: If Ole Miss wants to make the CFP, they can’t afford a third loss. Plus, a win against Georgia would be a massive feather in the cap for the Rebels’ playoff resume.

“I just feel like we all are on the same page, like we know how big of a game this is and we know if we want to make it to the playoffs, that Georgia is on our schedule, in our way,” Pegues said. “And we just feel like with the preparation we put in and the game we put together last week, that we’re prepared for this game, no matter rain or anything like that.”

And knowing that their biggest goals are likely at stake on Saturday, Pegues knows he and his teammates will be coming out ready to withstand whatever Georgia can throw at them.

And, ideally, be ready to throw a few counter punches.

“It’s gonna be waves,” Pegues said. “They got good players. We have good players. And I just feel like, at the end of the day, it comes down to who want to be out there the most, and who want to give it their all. And that just comes down to training in the summer and in the spring and just doing the little things.”

Saturday night might also feature some foul weather with rain in the forecast, and the Rebels are ready for that, too, Pegues said.

“It does have a big effect on it, just because sometimes you can slip and fall as a DB or anything like that,” Pegues said. “But it’s gonna be really like a mud bath, a run game, and we take pride just with the defense we have and the D line we have, and the linebackers, of stopping the run. So I just feel like, if we all just stay on the same page and keep our keys, we’ll be able to do what we have to do.”