Paul Finebaum Names SEC Contender Primed For Breakout Season

Some college football teams may be more impacted by the expanded College Football Playoff than others. This is because they have been on the cusp of breaking through and making their first playoff appearance for several years but have been unable to quite get over the hump.

One of those teams is the Ole Miss Rebels. The Rebels have had three 10+ win seasons in the College Football Playoff era, one of which was an 11-2 season last year. This culminated in a 38-25 win over Penn State in the Peach Bowl.

ESPN's Paul Finebaum is very bullish on the Rebels heading into 2024. He believes this is their strongest team in years, and it all begins with quarterback Jaxson Dart.

"They have a chance to be outstanding," Finebaum said. "It starts with Jaxson Dart, and they've got so many compliments now, especially defensively. It's the best Ole Miss team we've seen in a long time."

ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) measures team strength to predict a team's future performance for the rest of the season. Unlike Finebaum and others, it doesn't rate the Rebels highly. According to FPI, Ole Miss is ranked as the No. 9 team in the SEC and the No. 16 team overall, just ahead of the Kansas Jayhawks but behind the Texas A&M Aggies.

The FPI predicts that Ole Miss will have an 8-4 season in Oxford. The Rebels have a 2.3% chance to win the SEC and a 20.7% chance to win the College Football Playoff. Despite these predictions, there is still reason to be optimistic. According to 247Sports , Ole Miss has secured the No. 1 transfer portal class in 2024. This includes the signing of Walter Nolen, who many consider the top defensive lineman in the transfer portal.

It looks like this could be an exciting year for Lane Kiffin and his team.

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