Who Would Ole Miss Football Have Faced in Nebraska's Matt Rhule's 40-Team CFP?

Rhule jokingly stated the College Football Playoff should expand to 40 teams, which squad would the Rebels have played?

Sep 28, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule high fives quarterback Heinrich Haarberg (10) during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule remains one of the most talked about shot-callers in college football where he continues stealing headlines.

This month, the Cornhuskers' head coach broke down the current College Football Playoff model and how there should be expansion in the future.

Rhule, jokingly said the committee should expand 40 teams due to the disadvantage the Big Ten faces.

“The more spots the better, man. Make that thing 40 and let’s go,” Rhule jokingly said.

“I think, again, you’re talking about a league that we play nine conference games where some others play eight. So I think that puts you at an automatic disadvantage,” he said. “You look at two years ago we were 5-7 and you think about the years with Scott Frost where he was 5-7, now you add in one more Group of Five team, you take out one more Big Ten, and actually now you’re 6-6. This year you’re 6-6, now you’re 7-5. You’re just adding another win in. …

“So the more spots, the better. We’re playing in a really, really tough league. We’re playing really, really good teams. And you know what? If you play in this league you deserve a chance to get to the postseason and see what you can do.”

Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels were on the outside looking in when it came to last year's College Football Playoff after multiple losses, but where would the program have landed in Rhule's "proposed" 40-team bracket?

By using the ESPN Football Power Index, On3 Sports broke down what a 40-team College Football Playoff would have looked like this past season.

The "What-If" College Football Playoff: Matt Rhule Edition

First-round
No. 25 BYU vs. No. 40 UNLV
No. 26 Iowa State vs. No. 39 Vanderbilt
No. 27 Boise State vs. No. 38 Nebraska
No. 28 Minnesota vs. No. 37 Virginia Tech
No. 29 Michigan vs. No. 36 Baylor
No. 30 Oklahoma vs. No. 35 TCU
No. 31 Auburn vs. No. 34 Arkansas
No. 32 Tulane vs. No. 33 Kansas

Here's what a hypothetical 40-team College Football Playoff would look like using last season's ESPN FPI🏆 https://t.co/q4thy75Jw0 pic.twitter.com/BZt4ZFFNB8

— On3 (@On3sports) May 21, 2025

Second-round
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Winner of Tulane/Kansas
No. 2 Texas vs. Winner of Auburn/Arkansas
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Winner of Oklahoma/TCU
No. 4 Alabama vs. Winner of Michigan/Baylor
No. 5 Ole Miss vs. Winner of Minnesota/Virginia Tech
No. 6 Penn State vs. Winner of Boise State/Nebraska
No. 7 Georgia vs. Winner of Iowa State/Vanderbilt
No. 8 Oregon vs. Winner of BYU/UNLV
No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 24 Kansas State
No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 23 Colorado
No. 11 Miami vs. No. 22 Iowa
No. 12 Louisville vs. No. 21 Arizona State
No. 13 SMU vs. No. 20 Missouri
No. 14 Clemson vs. No. 19 Florida
No. 15 South Carolina vs. No. 18 LSU
No. 16 Texas A&M vs. No. 17 USC

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