Ole Miss Football remains inactive in AP poll after bye week – Sports Illustrated

Ole Miss football can improve its ranking with a win next Saturday over Oklahoma at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

For now, everything remains the same, including the Rebels’ ranking in the AP poll.

Ole Miss remained at No. 18 after the chaos of Week 8, when two top-10 SEC programs fell at the wrong time. No. 1 Texas lost 30-15 against No. 5 Georgia in what could have implications for the SEC title game.

Meanwhile, No. 7 Alabama dropped its second conference game in a 24-17 loss against then-No. 11 Tennessee in the annual game on the third Saturday in October.

Both the Crimson Tide and Rebels will need help from others to help secure a spot in the College Football Playoff polls later next month. With two losses in the conference, there is no room for error in games that remain challenging for both sides. Alabama, which dropped to No. 15, still has games against No. 21 Missouri, No. 8 LSU, Oklahoma and Auburn.

Ole Miss still has a game against the Sooners, plus trips against Arkansas and Florida. There’s also the big test against No. 2 Georgia at home on Nov. 9 for what could decide a playoff spot for the Rebels.

Ole Miss should be near full strength entering Saturday’s home game after the bye week. The taste of defeat in the overtime loss against LSU still lingers in the mouths of those who thought they could go undefeated thanks to a stellar defensive performance and consistency in the passing game.

Oklahoma is coming off a 35-9 loss against South Carolina and will enter the game in Oxford unranked.

Georgia moved up to No. 2 after securing a road win over the Longhorns. Texas fell to No. 5 with a 15-point loss, its first since joining the SEC. Tennessee moved up four spots to No. 7 after securing its second win over Alabama in three years. LSU moved up one spot to No. 8 with a 34-10 win over Arkansas.

Texas A&M, which beat Mississippi State in Starkville, was idle at No. 14 entering the Week 9 game against LSU at Kyle Field. Vanderbilt, unranked since 2014, came in at No. 25 after its 24-14 win over Ball State.