Ole Miss Jumps To No. 4 In AP Poll After Beating LSU

Ole Miss climbed four spots to No. 4 in this week's AP Top 25 after beating LSU 32-24, a result that instantly reshuffled the top of the poll. The Rebels now own wins over two teams that were ranked when they played them, LSU and Louisville, which is the kind of resume most one-loss teams would kill for.

Brett McMurphy

@Brett_McMurphy

Ole Miss jumps up to No. 4, Louisville up seven spots to No. 16. Florida & Mississippi State make 1st appearances of season

On3@On3

BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨 t.co/qyJb6F6Xcb

Louisville was the week's biggest riser outside of Oxford, jumping seven spots to No. 16 after knocking off SMU 41-31. SMU fell six places in the same poll for its trouble. Meanwhile Florida and Mississippi State both showed up in the rankings for the first time all season, with Pete Nakos flagging both debuts as they landed.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Florida and Mississippi State make their first appearances in the AP top 25 this year. t.co/hX9ZHVizQv

On3@On3

BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨 t.co/qyJb6F6Xcb

The SEC now has 10 teams ranked, easily the most of any conference, and that depth is exactly why the poll got messy fast. Ole Miss beat both LSU and Louisville, two top-16 teams, and still landed behind squads that Bruce Feldman pointed out haven't beaten a ranked opponent all year.

Bruce Feldman

@BruceFeldmanCFB

Agree with Ralph. It obviously doesn’t matter much at this point … but two of the teams still ahead of them haven’t beaten anyone yet.

Ralph D. Russo@ralphDrussoATH

Ole Miss jumps to No. 4 in the new AP Top 25. (shoulda been higher, imo). t.co/HyJGwFjANr

Chris Low went a step further, arguing that based on the résumé alone the Rebels probably deserve to be No. 1 or No. 2 right now, not No. 4. It's a fair gripe, especially given that Ole Miss opens as a 2.5-point underdog heading into Florida this weekend, hardly the treatment you'd expect for a top-5 team on the road against a squad it's favored to beat on paper.

Chris Low

@Clowfb

Ole Miss moves up to No. 4, but based on its two wins over LSU and Louisville, both in the top 16, Rebels probably ought to be No. 1, No. 2 at the very least. And, yet, they’re a 2.5-point underdog at Florida this weekend.

On3@On3

BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨 t.co/qyJb6F6Xcb

None of the debate changes what's actually in front of Ole Miss: a trip to Gainesville against a Florida team that just put up 44 points at Auburn and is unbeaten through three games. Win that one and the ranking argument solves itself. Lose it, and this week's poll noise becomes the least of Lane Kiffin's problems.