Anyone pushing for Mississippi to be in the College Football Playoff at this point is either on the payroll of the Southeastern Conference or wants to be at some point in the future. 

That’s the truth, as plain and simple as it can be after the Rebels choked away the best opportunity in the history of their program Saturday, losing 24-17 at Florida.

No SEC championship game. 

No playoff. 

No nothin’, other than a New Year’s trip to Orlando or some such place that will force everyone in the program to pretend they’re honored and happy to be there. 

And given the vaunted name, image and likeness payroll Lane Kiffin had to work with this year, it’s nothing less than a massive program-wide choke job. You want to play with the big boys after all these years? Fine, go ahead.

But you better take care of business. Instead, Ole Miss messed around and put together one of the most disappointing and confounding seasons they’ve ever had. 

With all the hype, all the talent, all the momentum behind Kiffin after they dominated Georgia two weeks ago, are you really going to tell me the Rebels couldn’t do better than 5-for-18 on third and fourth down against a Florida team left for dead weeks ago?

We can break down all the mistakes Ole Miss made in this game from Kiffin’s hard-headedness in handing the ball to defensive tackle JJ Pegues in short yardage to a missed 34-yard field goal to a muffed punt return that handed Florida three points to quarterback Jaxson Dart refusing to tighten his chin strap. There are a lot of things Kiffin will regret. 

But the bottom line is pretty straightforward. No team with losses to Florida, LSU and Kentucky should be within a mile of the playoff. And the worst part for Kiffin is that it was so avoidable. 

Yeah, the SEC is tough. So what? We’re in a new era here with the 12-team playoff. In a league like the SEC, you can survive losses, especially if you also have good wins. 

There has to be a limit, though. Three is just too many. 

Florida’s playing well toward the end of the season, but a real playoff team goes into Gainesville and handles a Florida team that just got its sixth win. 

LSU is a big brand name with lots of talent, but the Tigers are 6-4 and just not very good.

Kentucky almost certainly isn’t going to a bowl game. 

Had any of those three games gone the other way, it would have almost certainly put Ole Miss in the 12-team field. The Georgia win was that valuable, and beating South Carolina 27-3 is one of the more underrated great performances of the season given how good the Gamecocks have been otherwise. 

And at some point, there will be a three-loss team in the expanded playoff. Maybe even this year. 

But it shouldn’t be Ole Miss. It can’t be Ole Miss, not when those losses all occurred to average or worse opponents. 

You have to point the finger at Kiffin. Yes, he’s elevated the Rebels’ program significantly. But for years, his record in the really important games that define seasons has been questionable. After the Georgia win, that narrative was starting to turn. If Ole Miss had simply beaten Florida and Mississippi State, it would have all but locked up its spot. And Kiffin would have been arguably the most important figure in the modern history of Ole Miss football. 

Maybe he will be one day. But it’s not going to be this year. 

For Ole Miss to implode and miss the playoff with such a stacked roster, and when most of the hard work had been done, is a crushing disappointment. 

It’s also a gift to the likes of Indiana and Tennessee. The manner in which the Hoosiers were beaten 38-15 by Ohio State certainly frames their resurgence a bit differently. They didn’t look the part at all and will end the season without any standout wins. But assuming they beat 1-10 Purdue next week, there’s little chance the committee can drop them below Ole Miss. 

The Vols also stand to benefit from the developments in Gainesville. The first team out this week, according to the committee, they are in much better position heading into next Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt. 

SEC homers will undoubtedly argue that both the Vols and Rebels should be in. Already this week, commissioner Greg Sankey was on social media sharing some strength of schedule data as he begins his public lobbying effort to stack the bracket with SEC teams. 

And while the SEC is probably the best and deepest conference, you’d have to do a lot of mental gymnastics to conclude that the parity we’ve seen is evidence that it’s stacked with great teams. What’s closer to the truth is that the SEC has several pretty good, but deeply flawed teams, whose inconsistencies tend to show up on the road. 

The SEC will spend the next couple weeks claiming that the league’s depth means all of them should be in the playoff. The committee shouldn’t — and won’t — fall for it. Sorry, Ole Miss. But you’re out. 

Mississippi State football comes off a bye week with a chance to earn a win over nationally-ranked Missouri on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (2-8, 0-6) last played on Nov. 9 in a loss at Tennessee and have two more games against SEC opponents this year.

The Tigers (7-3, 3-3) lost a back-and-forth game at South Carolina last weekend.

Here’s how to watch the Mississippi State football vs. Missouri game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:

Mississippi State vs. Missouri will broadcast nationally on SEC Network in Week 13 of the 2024 college football season. Taylor Zarzour and Matt Stinchcomb will call the game from the booth at Davis Wade Stadium, with Alyssa Lang reporting from the sidelines. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers. 

• Date: Saturday, Nov. 23
• Start time: 3:15 p.m. CT

The Mississippi State football vs. Missouri game starts at 3:15 p.m. CT Saturday from Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville.

Clarion Ledger reporter Sam Sklar’s prediction: Missouri 37, Mississippi State 20

The Bulldogs are allowing 41 points per game in SEC play, and it’s difficult to see Missouri not having the same level of success. Expect big days from Burden and/or Wease, plus running back Nate Noel as MSU loses another game by double digits. 

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Nov. 22

• Odds:  Missouri -7.5
• O/U:  61.5 points
• Money line: Missouri -300, Mississippi State +240

• Aug. 31:  EKU, W 56-7
• Sept. 7:  at Arizona State, L 30-23
• Sept. 14:  Toledo, L 41-17
• Sept. 21:  Florida, L 45-28
• Sept. 28:  at Texas, L 35-13
• Oct. 5:  OPEN DATE
• Oct. 12:  at Georgia, L 41-31
• Oct. 19:  Texas A&M, L 34-24
• Oct. 26:  Arkansas, L 58-25
• Nov. 2:  UMass, W 45-20
• Nov. 9:  at Tennessee, L 33-14
• Nov. 16:  OPEN DATE
• Nov. 23:  Missouri, 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network
• Nov. 29: at Ole Miss, 2:30 p.m. on ABC and ESPN+

Record: 2-8 (0-6 SEC)

• Aug. 29:  Murray State, W 51-0
• Sept. 7:  Buffalo, W 38-0
• Sept. 14:  Boston College, W 27-21
• Sept. 21:  Vanderbilt, W 30-27 2OT
• Sept. 28:  OPEN DATE
• Oct. 5:  at Texas A&M, L 41-10
• Oct. 12:  at UMass, W 45-3
• Oct. 19:  Auburn, W 21-17
• Oct. 26:  at Alabama, L 34-0
• Nov. 2:  OPEN DATE
• Nov. 9:  Oklahoma, W 30-23
• Nov. 16:  at South Carolina, L 34-30
• Nov. 23:  at Mississippi State, 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network
• Nov. 30: Arkansas, TBD

Record:  7-3, 3-3 SEC

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Reserve KeShawn Murphy scored 16 points and led a quartet of Mississippi State bench players in double-digit scoring and the Bulldogs beat SMU 84-79 on Friday night.

Reserves RJ Melendez scored 15 points, Riley Kugel 13 and Claudell Harris Jr. 10. Josh Hubbard was the lone Mississippi State (5-0) starter in double figures with 14 points on just 4-for-18 shooting. The Bulldogs’ starters went 10 for 33 from the floor compared to the 18-for-35 effort from the bench.

Cameron Matthews made a layup with 5:13 remaining to break a tie at 66. Murphy made a 3-pointer and Kanye Clary made 1 of 2 free throws and Mississippi State led for the remainder.

Reserve Kario Oquendo scored 13 points for the Mustangs (4-2), Matt Cross, Boopie Miller and Samet Yigitoglu all had 12 points and B.J. Edwards scored 10.

Mississippi State will get almost a full week off before returning to action on Thanksgiving night at the Arizona Tipoff in Tempe. The Bulldogs play their first game of the event against UNLV.

The Mustangs will head to Palm Springs, California, for the Acrisure Holiday Invitational, where they face Cal Baptist on Tuesday.

Find more SMU coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.