Ole Miss starts 2024 in the College Football Playoff mix with Week 0 bowl projections
There will be college football played this week. We made it, everyone. But while Week 0 kicks off the 2024 season this weekend No. 6 Ole Miss is still in preseason camp mode for another seven days.
This is the final week of Fall camp before the Rebels start to shift into game-week preparations, presumably over the weekend with a blend of final camp drills and Furman game-planning.
One thing that is never too early to look at, mostly for entertainment and conversation-starting, are the bowl projections in mid-August. Yes, college football pundits have already released some predictions for how the postseason might go before one regular season game is played.
Keeping the buzz and trendy conversations since last season’s Peach Bowl concluded, Ole Miss is in the mix for its first College Football Playoff berth — for the most part.
Of the outlets that have released Week 0 bowl projections two have the Rebels in the expanded 12-team CFP field and one has them playing a Florida bowl and missing out on the party.
Athlon Sports actually got things started a month ago with its preseason bowl projections, slotting Ole Miss as the No. 7 Seed in the CFP and hosting No. 10 Seed Penn State in Oxford for a first round meeting and Peach Bowl rematch.
The Rebels dispatch of the Nittany Lions and advance to take on No. 2 Seed Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, where Athlon has their CFP journey ending in the quarterfinal round.
Brett McMurphy of the Action Network also has Ole Miss as the No. 7 Seed but predicts Virginia Tech will get the No. 10 Seed. The Rebels beat the Hokies and advance to take on No. 2 Seed, and predicted Southeastern Conference champion, Alabama in the Peach Bowl. McMurphy also sees the postseason end in the quarterfinal round for the Rebels.
Then there is Jerry Palm of CBS Sports, who is not starting the season off with positive CFP vibes for Ole Miss. Palm predicts the Rebels will be in Orlando, taking on defending CFP national champion Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. A far cry from both team’s expected postseason destination.
Of course, there are still 12 games to be played for every FBS football program and no doubt these will shift in the coming weeks. Can the season just start already?
