JD PicKell believes Ole Miss sits in perfect position to make College Football Playoff

On3’s JD PicKell is of the belief that Ole Miss is sitting in the perfect position to make it to the College Football Playoff for the first time this season.

Lane Kiffin’s team, led by quarterback Jaxson Dart, is entering 2024 with a ton of hype behind them. During the latest episode of The Hard Count, PicKell explained why it’s warranted, and why the Rebels may be celebrating when it’s time to reveal the bracket for the CFP.

“Let’s get into this top five here. No. 5, I got Ole Miss, and it feels like for Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin, man, preparation is meeting opportunity for them,” PicKell stated. “Like, talk about what they have on this roster already from an opportunity perspective, Jaxson Dart is back for a third year. Okay, you got Tre Harris back for another season, one of the best receivers in the SEC a season ago. You got back your DC, you got back your OC, they’re still intact in Oxford.

“Then, the opportunity of what they have from the portal, with the Juice Wells adding into that offense, adding in a Walter Nolen, a Princely Umanmielen on defense. People keep talking about Ole Miss being different, you know, physically, and them looking different off the bus. And that’s all like, a nice thing to say. What does it actually look like, though? Like from a numbers perspective, for Ole Miss, for context, they’re too deep on the interior of the defensive line. Average is now 309 pounds. Translation, they will have run stoppers. Okay. Offensively, across the O line, they average 330 pounds. We keep saying, ‘Hey, the SEC, it’s a line of scrimmage league.’ Ole Miss, they keep upping the ante on the line of scrimmage.

“Schedule’s pretty workable. No Bama, no Texas, no Tennessee. Get Georgia at home. Ole Miss man, preparation meets opportunity. I think they’re a playoff team. I think they’ll be in the SEC Championship, and I think they’re going to be a force here in 2024, because of all the reasons I just mentioned, they’re built for a year like this. Lane Kiffin has gone all in via the portal, yet again, and Jaxson Dart is prime for a third huge year in the system.”

Ole Miss won’t be tested much until their clash with Kentucky in Week 4, but the Rebels are primed to make a run in 2024 if JD PicKell is to be believed, and he made some salient points on why they’re ready for the next level this season.