DALLAS—The expanded 12-team playoff opens the door for getting in the postseason bracket for college football teams that have been good but maybe not great.
A team like Ole Miss.
The Rebels have played in two New Year’s Six bowls the last three seasons including when it went 11-2 last season.
The losses were to powerhouses Alabama and Georgia.
The Bulldogs humbled the Rebels 52-17, exposing roster deficiencies.
“One of the big things is I just thought…there was a length and size issue,” fifth-year coach Lane Kiffin said Monday on the first day of SEC Media Days.
Georgia and Alabama had recruited athletes that had baseline measurements.
Kiffin hit the transfer portal hard to measure up better.
“I do think we addressed that,” he said. “That game was glaring. …We’re going to look better coming off the bus.”
Georgia and Ole Miss play again this season, this time in Oxford on Nov. 9. The Rebels other toughest SEC games appear to be at LSU and home against Oklahoma.
If it’s playoff or bust for Ole Miss, quarterback Jaxson Dart isn’t saying that.
“We don’t really look at it that way,” Dart said. “We’re focused on right now and being able to have the mindset of being 1-0 each and every day.”
Dart worked out with wide receiver Tre Harris and defensive end Jared Ivey before they traveled to Texas to represent the program.
“Just having the approach every day matters and everything else will take care of itself,” Dart said.
Kiffin made the rounds for interviews just four days after his father, former NFL defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, passed away. He called his father his “superhero.”
He said his father wanted him to “show up and do his job…That’s what I’m trying to do here.”
Ole Miss loaded up again in the transfer portal to surround Dart with more talented teammates.
That includes…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ole-miss-measure-georgia-playoff-203809225.html
Author : Athens Banner-Herald
Publish date : 2024-07-15 20:38:09
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