Mississippi Rebels vs. Florida Gators Pick & Prediction NOVEMBER 23rd 2024

Preview and Prediction

In the most recent projections for the College Football Playoff, four teams from the Southeastern Conference with two losses are grouped together in a five-team tie.

One of those teams is No. 9 Ole Miss, and their coach Lane Kiffin is among the many coaches who have realized that it is more beneficial to not participate in the SEC title game than to lose in it and miss out on the chance to compete in the 12-team playoff.

Before they can solidify their position, the Rebels (8-2, 4-2 SEC) will face off against Florida (5-5, 3-4) this Saturday in Gainesville, Florida.

A win for Ole Miss would keep them in the running for the SEC championship game, along with three other SEC teams: No. 7 Alabama, No. 10 Georgia, and No. 11 Tennessee. Only No. 3 Texas has just one loss.

The winner of the SEC title game will receive a first-round bye, but Kiffin is not focused on that aspect.

"The reward of getting a bye versus the risk of being eliminated completely, that's a huge risk just for a bye," Kiffin stated. "So it's a very unique situation in all of postseason sports. The way the system is set up, you could go to the SEC championship game and get eliminated from the CFP race. But if you don't go, you're still in the running."

Ole Miss has been on a three-game winning streak, including a strong 28-10 victory over Georgia on November 9th. They had a bye week last weekend.

The Rebels' star quarterback Jaxson Dart has thrown for 3,409 yards, 22 touchdowns, and only four interceptions this season. He is also expected to have his top receiver Tre Harris back in the lineup.

Harris has missed the last three games due to a back injury, but has accumulated 59 receptions for 987 yards and six touchdowns this season.

"I'm really excited to have the best receiver in the country back," Kiffin said of Harris.

Jordan Watkins, who leads the team with seven touchdown catches, views every game as a playoff game for the Rebels.

"If we lose, we're out of playoff contention, so we have to win every game from here on out," Watkins stated. "You can see that in how well we've been playing."

Ole Miss will end their regular season at home against Mississippi State on November 29th.

Florida is coming off a 27-16 upset at home against then-No. 21 LSU.

Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway returned from a one-game absence due to a hamstring injury and threw for 226 yards and one touchdown. He then declared that the Gators are on their way back to their former championship level under coaches like Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer.

"The whole team has rallied behind that and we truly believe that we can make a change," Lagway said. "That's the vibe in the locker room, that we're going to bring this program back to what it used to be."

Regardless of their grand ambitions, Florida will face a tough challenge against the Rebels.

"Ole Miss has playmakers on offense, a veteran quarterback, and some disruptive players on defense," said Gators coach Billy Napier. "They're in the running for the playoffs. They've had a good season. So this is a good football team, a ranked opponent, and we're excited for the challenge."

Florida will look to put pressure on Dart and they are feeling more confident after recording seven sacks against LSU. Linebacker Shemar James had two of those sacks.

The last time No. 3 Ole Miss visited Gainesville, they were defeated 38-10 in 2015.

The last time these two teams met was in 2020, when Florida won 51-35 at Oxford, Mississippi.

PREDICTION

Mississippi Rebels

Florida Gators