Ole Miss climbs to No. 4 in 2026 CFP bracket projection — SkimNews
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- Ole Miss climbed to No. 4 in the projection after a 32-24 win over Lane Kiffin's LSU Tigers in Oxford, giving the 3-0 Rebels two top-25 victories including a season-opening win over Louisville.
- Texas claimed the No. 1 seed and the top Big 12/SEC slot behind its win over Ohio State, with the Longhorns now facing a road test at Tennessee this weekend despite concerns about Arch Manning and a flat showing against UTSA.
- Ohio State held at No. 2 as the Big Ten champion pick despite the loss to Texas, with the projection noting the Buckeyes' talent and a tricky Oct. 3 road trip to Iowa ahead.
- Pete Golding is 5-1 as Ole Miss's new head coach, inheriting the program after Kiffin left for LSU; the piece argues the roster spending is more balanced under Golding and that five-star recruit Deuce Knight remains a key piece.
- BYU entered the playoff projection at No. 10 after a 3-0 start including a win over Arizona, while Alabama also debuted in the bracket at No. 9 ahead of a brutal five-game stretch starting at Mississippi State.
- Boise State earned the No. 12 seed and the Group of 6 automatic bid after a close loss to Oregon and a win over Memphis, with a veteran QB and underrated head coach cited as reasons the Broncos can navigate the hurdles ahead.
- Miami's Darian Mensah is positioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate as the 3-0 Hurricanes sit at No. 3, though the projection flags a soft schedule as a barrier to climbing higher in the final CFP rankings.
Why it matters: Ole Miss's jump from No. 6 to No. 4 — and Pete Golding's 5-1 start replacing Lane Kiffin — is the clearest early signal that the Rebels' late-Kiffin surge was institutional rather than a one-coach story, with two top-25 wins already in hand and a road trip to Florida as the next proving ground.
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