The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season land tonight, 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Ole Miss goes in 12th in the Associated Press poll and 12th in the coaches poll, at 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the league. Both published projections I saw - ESPN's and CBS Sports' - have the Rebels around 11th. ESPN's note was the interesting part: it credited Ole Miss with the second-toughest schedule in the country entering Week 9, behind only Oklahoma, and pointed out that both losses came on the road against teams that are still ranked. Pete Golding was asked Monday whether he would watch and said no. His reason is better than the usual coach answer: when the first poll came out last season, several teams in it did not make the playoff and several teams that made it were not in it. He also conceded the number is not meaningless - it matters for recruiting and for public perception. Then in segment two: Kirby Smart was asked about a real imbalance. Since the 2024 television deal, Georgia is tied for last in the SEC in home night games and tied for the lead in road night games. He agreed with the premise and then took the air out of it - they play on the road at night because they have been highly ranked, they have not had as many premier matchups, they never play Florida at home, and they have not had the home opportunity since 2015. Then: he does not get into the conspiracy theories, everybody else does, and he worries about playing the games. He is right on the facts. He is also walking into Vaught-Hemingway at night on Saturday having just explained why it keeps happening to him. Should Golding be watching tonight? Tell me in the comments. Locked On Ole Miss Hits - quick takes on the Rebels every weekday. Subscribe and hit the bell. Hotty Toddy. #OleMiss #HottyToddy #CFP #Georgia #SEC #Rebels
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season land tonight, 7 to 8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. Ole Miss goes in 12th in the Associated Press poll and 12th in the coaches poll, at 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the league.
Both published projections I saw - ESPN's and CBS Sports' - have the Rebels around 11th. ESPN's note was the interesting part: it credited Ole Miss with the second-toughest schedule in the country entering Week 9, behind only Oklahoma, and pointed out that both losses came on the road against teams that are still ranked.
Pete Golding was asked Monday whether he would watch and said no. His reason is better than the usual coach answer: when the first poll came out last season, several teams in it did not make the playoff and several teams that made it were not in it. He also conceded the number is not meaningless - it matters for recruiting and for public perception.
Then in segment two: Kirby Smart was asked about a real imbalance. Since the 2024 television deal, Georgia is tied for last in the SEC in home night games and tied for the lead in road night games. He agreed with the premise and then took the air out of it - they play on the road at night because they have been highly ranked, they have not had as many premier matchups, they never play Florida at home, and they have not had the home opportunity since 2015. Then: he does not get into the conspiracy theories, everybody else does, and he worries about playing the games.
He is right on the facts. He is also walking into Vaught-Hemingway at night on Saturday having just explained why it keeps happening to him.
Should Golding be watching tonight? Tell me in the comments.
Locked On Ole Miss Hits - quick takes on the Rebels every weekday. Subscribe and hit the bell. Hotty Toddy.
#OleMiss #HottyToddy #CFP #Georgia #SEC #Rebels