OXFORD, Miss. — It was only Week 7, but the top-15 matchup between Ole Miss and Missouri had an elimination game-like feel to it.
In the end, Ole Miss was the team that came out on top with a, widely unexpected, dominant 28-point win.
The Rebels improved to 5-1 and picked up their third conference win of the year, while Missouri fell to 5-2 (2-2 SEC).
What it Means
Of course, Missouri isn’t mathematically eliminated from meaningful postseason play with the loss in Oxford, but its path does become immensely more difficult. The Tigers more than likely can’t afford another loss if they are going to qualify for the College Football Playoffs, and still have games against Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and Oklahoma to go.
Ole Miss has a similar slate remaining with matchups versus Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma looming. The Rebels also have wildcard games against Auburn and Mississippi State thrown in the mix as well, but do possess the slight margin for error that Missouri doesn’t have anymore.
For what it’s worth, Texas and Georgia both look a bit more manageable following Week 7 losses themselves. Then again, Texas and Georgia know what’s on the line in terms of their postseason paths moving forward too.
In the gauntlet that the SEC usually is, it’s unlikely any team will run the table to emphatically punch a playoff ticket.
The Rebels will enjoy Saturday’s win for the rest of the night, then swiftly turn the page on Sunday towards a ‘blood boiling’ Texas team that has its back against the wall for the rest of the year.
“Whenever you go on the road in the SEC it’s definitely tough to win, especially it being a night game. Them just losing to Florida, so I know their blood is probably boiling right now,” Trinidad Chambliss said about the upcoming meetup with the Longhorns. “Emotions are probably high down there and they’re probably going to have a really good week of practice. We have to as well too.”
The two most encouraging aspects of Ole Miss’ win against Missouri could be that its defense completely shut down an offense of substance and that Chambliss’ 200-yard, four-touchdown performance was far from his best work.
The Rebels aren’t satisfied at the midpoint of the season and won’t allow themselves to get ‘complacent’ either.
“Yes, we got the win. Yes, we won by a lot, but we can’t get complacent,” Chambliss added. “(Texas has) a really good defense. Their edge rushers are really good. They got a really good head coach in Coach Sark. Their quarterback Arch is good too. You really can’t look at records in the SEC because everyone is elite.”
What Ole Miss can feel good about Saturday night is that it still has everything it wanted achieve going into the year on the table after six games.
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