Kirk Herbstreit Shares Take on Ole Miss and the SEC as Oregon, Indiana Battle in CFP

Herbstreit weighed in on the parity across college football, Southeastern Conference must go back to the drawing board.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

Pete Golding and the Ole Miss Rebels eye a National Championship berth with the program set to square off against the Miami Hurricanes on Thursday night in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

After taking down the Tulane Green Wave and Georgia Bulldogs to open postseason play, Golding and Co. will look to keep the momentum alive against a fiery Hurricanes squad led by quarterback Carson Beck.

“Really just staying in the moment. The first round, I talked to the receivers a little bit, just staying in the moment and just not thinking about the championship, because you got to get through other games to get through that,” Ole Miss wide receiver Harrison Wallace said.

“And just how it’s different from the regular season, just because if you lose, you don’t have another game. Just really staying in the moment and being where your feet are.”

Now, with kickoff roughly 48 hours away, all eyes are on the Rebels with Kirk Herbstreit revealing his take on the Ole Miss Rebels and the SEC as the conference looks to win its first title in multiple season.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

College Football Playoff Semifinals

No. 10 Miami vs. No. 6 Ole Miss (Fiesta Bowl)
Date: Jan. 8, 2026
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN

No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Indiana (Peach Bowl)
Date: Jan. 9, 2026
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN

Kirb Herbstreit's Take: SEC Must Go Back To Drawing Board

“For 10 or 15 years, the SEC had the upper hand, … you have to give them their kudos, they played well as a group. But now the Big Ten as a group has played very, very well, (and) the SEC, they’ve got to go back to the drawing board when it comes to bowl games and this new 12-team Playoff,” Herbstreit said on the Nonstop podcast.

“It seems like they get to these bowl games and they don’t compete, they get embarrassed. It’s like game after game where they’ve had some tough times.”

Ole Miss and Miami will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN with a berth to the National Championship on the line in Glendale (Ariz.).

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