Greg McElroy explains why Ole Miss is team ‘nobody wants to see in playoff setting’

For the first time in the Lane Kiffin era, Ole Miss broke through on the national stage. Georgia came to Oxford as the No. 3 ranked team and not just got beat by the Rebels but pretty soundly. A final score of 28-10 sent Vaught Hemingway Stadium into a frenzy, twice.

Now, Ole Miss finds itself in the College Football Playoff discussion with an 8-2 record. ESPN’s Greg McElroy was there to see the Georgia game live and believes if the Rebels get in the 12-team field, nobody will want to see them.

“Ole Miss is the team that nobody wants to see in a playoff setting,” McElroy said. “… This team is literally two plays away from being undefeated. I think they are rounding into form in a way where nobody really wants to see them.”

Discussions with a Kiffin-led team always have to start on the offensive end. McElroy highlighted the quarterbacks, both Jaxson Dart and Austin Simmons in his one drive, for getting the ball out quickly. This meant the Georgia pass rush could not get home as often as they would like.

The overall protection was a positive in the ESPN analyst’s eyes, validating Ole Miss’ NIL spending this offseason.

But more so on the defensive end, where McElroy had nothing but praise for Pete Golding‘s unit. He believes the defense is what ultimately makes the Rebels a “national championship contender.” Specifically, the edge rushers coming after Carson Beck, a place where a nice chunk of the offseason money was spent.

“They constantly were applying pressure,” McElroy said. “They had five sacks. All five of the Ole Miss sacks came with just a standard four-man pass rush. I mean, this is a proof of concept for Lane Kiffin. They said ‘We will go out, we can spend our money on defensive linemen, game changers on the defense line.’ … They spend money in areas like that and look at the result.”

Georgia only scored 10 points on the evening but the lone touchdown was after a turnover, being a short field. From there, only a field goal was given up as Georgia punted four times, turned it over on three occasions, and their final drive as a turnover on downs.

On the overall season, opponents are averaging 12.9 points per game — good enough for sixth in the country. Everyone knows the offensive power at their disposal but if they are going to compete for a national title, McElroy likes what the defense offers.