Greg McElroy Questions Ole Miss Ranked Over Texas A&M in College Football Playoff

Pete Golding and the Ole Miss Rebels are College Football Playoff bound after receiving the program's first berth in school history on Sunday.

After rounding out the season with an 11-1 record, including seven SEC victories, the Rebels are set to host a first-round matchup against the Tulane Green Wave.

Ole Miss will be without Lane Kiffin on the sidelines after making his move to depart Oxford for the LSU Tigers job, but offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is set to be in town despite following Kiffin to Baton Rouge.

“I’m not worried about that at all,” Carter said on The OM Spirit Podcast this week. “Quite honestly, I think the coaches who are not in our building working, game-planning, you have a lot more time when you’re sitting in Baton Rouge to pre-portal and do those type of things when you’re not worried about a playoff game.

“Charlie Weis is a great man. Really, from day one, he said, ‘Hey, I want to finish what we started.’ To me, it’s a lot different with the head coach than the staff. The head coach is the one that chose to go take another position and put some people in some really tough spots.

"These guys believe in Charlie. You talk to Trinidad, you talk to Kewan, you talk to the offensive line, Dae’Quan Wright, these guys believe in Charlie. Charlie’s going to call a great game. Hopefully multiple games. I know he wants to do that.”

But there is a debate on Ole Miss' seeding in the College Football Playoff after sitting one spot above the Texas A&M Aggies at No. 6.

ESPN's Greg McElroy weighed in on the No. 6 and No. 7 slots in the 12-team bracket.

Greg McElroy's Take:

“I’ve got to be honest with you,” Greg McElroy said on the College Football Playoff Selection Show. “If I’m A&M, I have a bit of a gripe, frankly. Because A&M, if you look at their Strength of Schedule played, they’re sitting there at 16th.

"They’re sitting one spot behind Ole Miss, whose Strength of Schedule resides at 41. You can say the best win for Ole Miss is Oklahoma. Well, they went to Notre Dame and knocked off the Irish who might be a Top 10 team in the College Football Playoff as well.”

“So, the first disagreement I have so far,” McElroy said. “Still, A&M, excellent football team will be a difficult matchup for everybody.”

Ole Miss Rebels Football: Lane Kiffin.; — Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

College Football Playoff Rankings:

Indiana (13-0)*
Ohio State (12-1)
Georgia (12-1)*
Texas Tech (12-1)*
Oregon (11-1)
Ole Miss (11-1)
Texas A&M (11-1)
Oklahoma (10-2)
Alabama (10-3)
Miami (10-2)
Tulane (11-2)
James Madison (12-1)

First-Round Games:

No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon | 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, Dec. 20

No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss | 3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, Dec. 20 on TNT, truTV, HBO Max

No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M | Noon ET, Saturday, Dec. 20

No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma | 8 p.m. ET, Friday, Dec. 19

Quarterfinals:

No. 1 Indiana vs. winner of No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama | 4 p.m. ET, Thursday, Jan. 1
No. 2 Ohio State vs. winner of No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami | 7:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Dec. 31
No. 3 Georgia vs. winner of No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Tulane | 8 p.m. ET, Thursday, Jan. 1
No. 4 Texas Tech vs. winner of No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 James Madison | Noon ET, Thursday, Jan. 1

More LSU News:

LSU Football Hires Elite Offensive Coordinator, Five Assistant to Lane Kiffin's Staff

Three Takeaways From Lane Kiffin's Introductory Press Conference With LSU Football

Lane Kiffin Reveals How Nick Saban, Pete Carroll Influenced Decision to LSU Football

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