Ole Miss did what it was expected to do, but now comes the real test

The Ole Miss Rebels might have been the most fascinating team entering the 2025 College Football Playoff. Mostly due to the drama surrounding them. 

They became the poster child of the modern college sports landscape when head coach Lane Kiffin, following the best regular season in program history, bolted for a conference rival in LSU, leaving the program without a head coach before the start of the playoffs. 

What sort of impact would that have?

Even with that question, Ole Miss still entered the first-round as heavy favorites against Tulane, a team that many in the college football community did not think belonged, and a team that Ole Miss already routed earlier this season.

It was a game that Ole Miss was expected to win, head coach or no head coach.

It won. Convincingly. Routing Tulane for the second time this season, 41-10, to advance to the quarterfinals of the CFP where it will play No. 3 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. 

That is where Ole Miss will really be tested.

Ole Miss met expectations, now the real challenge is ahead

Even without Kiffin on the sidelines, there was very little doubt Ole Miss would roll on Saturday. And it did. But things are going to be significantly tougher in a very short period of time, because now it is going to have to figure out a way to get through one of the best teams in the country. 

Also the only team to beat Ole Miss all season.

Georgia beat Ole Miss, 43-35, earlier this season in a game the Rebels had to feel like they let slip away. Ole Miss entered the fourth quarter of that game with a two-possession lead, only to be outscored17-0 in the final quarter. 

It is the only loss of the season for Ole Miss. 

Now it has to try to avenge that defeat with an interim head coach.

The other big issue for Ole Miss in that game could be the status of star running back Kewan Lacy. 

Lacy was shaken up in this game and seemed to be less than 100 percent after a trip to the medical tent. He rushed for 87 yards on 15 carries with a touchdown in the win and helped set the tone early in the game. If they are going to have a chance at beating Georgia, they will likely need him to only be healthy, but also e an impact player. 

Ole Miss proved on Saturday it can overwhelm a second-tier team, and it did so from the opening kickoff. It moved right down the field in less than a minute to open the scoring, then jumped out to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Tulane never got any closer at any point in the game. Now it needs to show it can be the truly elite teams in the country.