College Football Playoff and Bowl Projections After Week 14: How Will Committee View Ole Miss?

The college football regular season has ended and what an exciting finale it was from coast to coast.

A handful of programs locked up bowl eligibility in the final minutes of their final game to reach that elusive 6-6 mark, while others clawed their way into the College Football Playoff bubble with memorable upsets and rivalry wins. No matter which side of the coin you’re on in terms of the scoreboard, last weekend was one where you have to thank for a game that never fails to deliver incredible results. It’s a joy to watch and even better to follow if you don’t have a keen interest in it.

Now comes the hard part of sorting out the postseason destination for all 82 eligible teams. Much of that will naturally begin in the conference title games on Tuesday with the latest rankings from the CFP Selection Committee. This is where we’ll start following the news that Lane Kiffin is indeed leaving Mississippi for LSU.

The Rebels losing their head coach and several assistants has a chance to seriously impact their seeding. This shouldn’t in any way hinder the team’s ability to make the playoffs — they’ve earned it and the bubble is very complicated — but it Is To be considered strictly within the committee’s protocol. What will that look like in practice?

This would likely give Notre Dame a home game and set up a juicy first-round game with SEC title game participant Alabama traveling to South Bend in mid-December. Now, there are plenty of conspiracy theorists who believe that the CFP is just a TV show for ESPN and every decision comes from them (it doesn’t), but there’s no denying that seeing those two bluebloods face off this season will benefit everyone involved. Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Oregon all remain in line to host a game, but the committee may consider avoiding a rematch of the game we’ve already seen (Ole Miss at Oklahoma) and instead drop the Rebels to a No. 11 seed so they can play against the Aggies at Kyle Field.

By doing this, the committee will ensure that, on the eve of Selection Sunday, you do not lose key statistics from a team that has made the playoffs. The simple fact is that this version of Ole Miss is not the one we have seen in 12 games. This can not happen. Taking down the Rebels protects the bracket and gives us some great games from the first round to the semis, no matter what.

It also helps in another aspect by clearing the bubble – separating the Fighting Irish from Miami, which has made a case for inclusion and has a head-to-head win in August. No matter what happens between now and next Sunday, we’ve seen a lot of unprecedented things and it appears it won’t be stopping anytime soon.

Ultimately, the CFP decisions will lead to the rest of the bowl picture which should include some great matchups. Imagine Diego Pavia and 10-win Vanderbilt taking on the Hurricanes in the Gator Bowl for the right to be the best non-playoff team this season? It looks like the Citrus Bowl has been on hold at Texas-Michigan for several weeks. Who doesn’t want to see Dabo Swinney or Eli Drinkwitz get a pot of seasoning thrown over their head in the Mayo Bowl?

With all this in mind, here’s how Sports Illustrated After Week 14, the playoffs and all 35 other bowl games in 2025–26 come together to make up the postseason picture.

1. Ohio State
2. Georgia
3. Indiana
4. texas tech
5. oregon
6. Texas A&M
7. oklahoma
8. Notre Dame
9. alabama
10. Virginia
11. ole miss
12. North Texas

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