Three And Out: How Ole Miss Can Beat Georgia, Bama's Biggest Problem, Brand Matters In CFP | Barrett Sallee
The SEC will take center stage on Saturday as Ole Miss will host Georgia and LSU will welcome Alabama into Death Valley in one of the fiercest rivalries in our beloved sport. Plus, there will be elimination games galore around the country in the second weekend of November.
Simply put, this is where the rubber meets the road in the race for one of those 12 coveted College Football Playoff spots.
Let’s take a spin around the country in this week’s Three and Out.
How Ole Miss can beat Georgia
Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart was named the Associated Press Player of the Week last week after throwing for 515 yards and six touchdowns in a massive win over Arkansas. Nobody expects him to replicate that production against Georgia, but it’s encouraging for a Rebels offense that, at times, hasn’t lived up to the hype that followed it into the fall.
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - NOVEMBER 02: Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) with Mississippi Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin during the college football game between the Mississippi Rebels and Arkansas Razorbacks on November 2, 2024, at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Bulldogs will roll in reeling on offense. Carson Beck has thrown 11 interceptions over the last five games, the rushing attack has struggled mightily all season and the defense has essentially kept them in every game this season.
The last thing coach Kirby Smart needs is to get into a shootout. Rebels coach Lane Kiffin knows this, and there’s no doubt that he will keep the pedal to the medal to put Beck in very uncomfortable spots.
Georgia is not built to get into a shootout - which is not something I expected to say before the season started. If a few of Kiffin’s early shots hit, look out.
Alabama’s biggest concern
The Alabama-LSU game in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, will essentially serve as a CFP elimination game for two-loss teams that are hanging on by a thread. If Alabama is going to hold serve as three-point road favorites, it’ll be all about discipline.
The problem is that they haven’t been very successful in that department this season. They are tied for last in the SEC in penalties per game at 8.6, and average nine penalties per game in conference matchups.
Uh-oh.
Discipline has become such a problem in Tuscaloosa that first-year coach Kalen DeBoer said a few weeks ago that he had to get his team back to focusing on details … like getting to meetings on time. Seriously? Former coach Nick Saban would embarrass players who are late to meetings worse than Kamala Harris on election night back in the day.
Something has to change … and there’s nothing to suggest that it will.
Brand matters
The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday night (you might not have noticed because there were … other things going on). There weren’t many surprises. However, there should have been had one major factor been ignored … brand.
Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports posted this on X which perfectly explains why this week’s rankings take brand into consideration.
The only - and I mean only - reason BYU and SMU aren’t much higher is because they aren’t nationally-known commodities. That’s it. That’s the only reason.
First-year CFP executive director Rich Clark said last week that they don’t take historical significance into consideration when ranking teams. Well … actions speak louder than words.