Paul Finebaum Names Season-Defining Games For Top SEC Contender In 2024

The upcoming college football season is significant for several teams that have been on the verge of making it to the College Football Playoff but have struggled to do so. With the addition of eight more playoff teams, more teams will now have the opportunity to compete for a national championship.

One of those teams is the Ole Miss Rebels. Ole Miss has won 10 or more games in two of the last three seasons and finished in the top 11 in the country in both seasons. However, the Rebels haven't made the College Football Playoff since it started in 2014.

A caller on The Paul Finebaum Show asked the SEC Network analyst if he felt that the Rebels' season hinged on two major games against Oklahoma and Georgia. Finebaum agreed, but he also felt that the game against LSU was another important one and that these three games would define the season.

"I think the hype is justified," Finebaum said. "I think the enthusiasm is justified. I think it's a matter of how they compete in those monster games. You just mentioned two of the biggest. I think another one is at LSU. I think those games will define the season for Lane Kiffin."

ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) measures a team's strength and predicts its performance for the rest of the season. Despite differing views from others, the FPI predicts that Ole Miss will finish at No. 9 in the league.

The FPI predicts that the Rebels will go 8-4, giving them only a 2.3% chance to win the conference and a 20.7% chance to make the College Football Playoff. If the Rebels can win two out of three of the tough games mentioned by Finebaum, it could be a year of proving people wrong in Oxford, Miss.

Related: Paul Finebaum Reveals What Will Cause Lane Kiffin To 'Look Elsewhere'