After years of knocking on the door, Ole Miss might finally be ready to break through. The Rebels have put together back-to-back strong seasons with an 11-2 record in 2023 and a 10-3 mark in 2024. Despite those impressive finishes, Lane Kiffin and his team couldn’t crack the old four-team playoff format in either year.
Now, with the expanded 12-team format in place, the door is wider than ever for a program like Ole Miss.
Why Joel Klatt Believes Ole Miss Will Make the 2025 Playoff
On the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show, the FOX Sports analyst ranked the 10 teams most likely to make their first College Football Playoff appearance this fall. His No. 2 pick was Ole Miss, a program that has never reached that milestone. According to Klatt, the Rebels’ favorable schedule could play a major role in a breakthrough season under head coach Lane Kiffin.
Klatt acknowledged that Ole Miss will need to replace a lot of talent (eight players were taken in the 2025 NFL Draft), but he expressed strong confidence in Kiffin.
“They’ve got to replace a bunch of talent, but I trust Lane Kiffin. He’s not only great at tweeting, he whines a lot about the playoff, which we know, but the guy can coach,” Klatt said.
He added, “Lane’s an excellent coach. He’s one of the best coaches in America. I think people love to hate on Lane, but everywhere he’s been, he’s done an excellent job. He’s grown, he’s matured, and I find him to be hilarious on Twitter.”
The Rebels enter the 2025 season with 18 new starters, including a new quarterback. Sophomore Austin Simmons is expected to take over for Jaxson Dart, who led the team in 2024. Despite the massive roster turnover, Klatt remains confident in Kiffin’s offensive system.
He explained, “Kiffin is going to be able to score points. I just believe that. It’s a QB-friendly offense, it’s a QB-friendly situation… Pete Golding’s defense last season was awesome.”
How Does Ole Miss’ 2025 Schedule Set Up for Success?
Beyond the coaching and system advantages, Ole Miss also benefits from a favorable 2025 schedule. The Rebels avoid Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Texas A&M during the regular season. They also get the advantage of home games against LSU and South Carolina in Oxford, which could decide their playoff fate.
The analyst added, “Overall, I like South Carolina’s roster more than Ole Miss, but the Rebels get the Gamecocks at home.”
70 DAYS AWAY
The Austin Simmons —> Cayden Lee connection will be special pic.twitter.com/pgtuxS1kLd
— Everything Ole Miss (@EverythingRebs) June 21, 2025
The schedule advantage becomes even more important when considering what happened in 2024. The Rebels beat Georgia and South Carolina but missed the College Football Playoff due to narrow losses to Kentucky, Florida, and LSU.
The PFSN Stats & Insights Team recently released their 2025 CFB Strength of Schedule analysis, and they project Ole Miss to finish with a 9.4 – 2.6 record. They also have the Rebels having the 56th hardest schedule in all of college football with a 123.75 rating.
With both a favorable schedule and a quarterback-friendly offensive system in place, Ole Miss has a genuine chance to break through. If everything falls into place, the Rebels could finally earn their first appearance in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
What is PFSN’s CFB Strength of Schedule Metric?
PFSN’s exclusive strength of schedule metric was crafted carefully using as many resources as possible ahead of the 2025 season. And, now, it’s updated with a look at all 136 teams with both Missouri State and Delaware joining the FBS this fall.
Using a bevy of metrics such as returning production, roster projections, coaching staff, incoming talent, home-field advantage, and other factors, the PFSN SOS analyzes which teams have the most difficult and easiest schedules this season.
PFSN’s strength of schedule metric included each team’s transfer portal classes, valued quarterbacks returning to their school, and continuity among the coaching staffs in the ranking.
These factors all awarded schedule difficulty more heavily based on merit and projection, as opposed to looking back at results from last season, though those results were factored in moderately.
You can find the full 2025 strength of schedule for all 136 FBS College Football teams here.
