What Saturday Changed About Ole Miss' Path Through the SEC

The Ole Miss Rebels did not take the field on Saturday, but plenty happened around them in the Southeastern Conference that will affect the landscape of the league in the weeks ahead.

Ole Miss' remaining schedule is as follows:

Oct. 10 -- at Vanderbilt

Oct. 17 -- vs. Missouri

Oct. 24 -- at Texas

Oct. 31 -- vs. Auburn

Nov. 7 -- vs. Georgia

Nov. 14 -- at Oklahoma

Nov. 21 -- vs. Wofford

Nov. 27 -- vs. Mississippi State

That's not an easy road, but what did the Rebels' remaining SEC opponents do on the field this weekend? Two teams (Oklahoma and Texas) were idle, but let's take a look at the active teams below.

Teams that Suffered Losses: Vanderbilt, Auburn and Mississippi State

Three of the Rebels' remaining SEC opponents suffered a loss on Saturday, including the Rebels' upcoming opponent in the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Vanderbilt has had a rough go of SEC play so far in 2026, holding a 3-2 record overall and an 0-2 mark in the SEC with the most recent loss coming to Georgia. The Bulldogs only led in Athens by a score of 21-14 at halftime, but they pulled away to grab a 38-14 win and keep Vandy in the cellar of the SEC standings. The Rebels have to go on the road to face Vanderbilt this week, but it's a game they should win, on paper.

Auburn also suffered a ranked road loss on Saturday to the Tennessee Volunteers. Unlike Vanderbilt, the Tigers do have one win in SEC play, but they have not appeared like a powerful force just yet within the conference. Tennessee secured a 24-14 win at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, and Auburn QB Byrum Brown was the Tigers' leading passer and rusher in the loss. The boost for Ole Miss in this game is that they get the Tigers at home on Halloween, and Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has been a difficult place for opponents in recent years.

Finally, the Rebels' in-state rival in Mississippi State suffered its first loss of the season at home to Alabama. State has looked like a completely different program this season with quarterback Kamario Taylor leading the offense, and despite falling this weekend, the Bulldogs will be a dangerous opponent when Thanksgiving weekend comes in November, especially against a currently-suspect Ole Miss defense.

State kept it close with Alabama in the first half on Saturday, but the Tide eventually pulled away for a 56-23 win.

Teams that Grabbed a Win: Georgia and Missouri

By far, the most surprising result from this is Missouri's dominating win over Florida, a team that blew out Ole Miss in The Swamp two weeks ago.

That Florida loss stings Ole Miss' resume (and its feelings about the rest of the season, given the issues on defense), but the fact that Missouri was able to make such quick work of the Gators with a 45-17 final score is concerning for the Rebels, to say the least.

The good news is that Ole Miss gets Missouri at home in a couple of weeks, and once again, Oxford has proven to be a difficult environment for opponents in recent seasons. It's also possible that this was a big letdown spot for Florida after the Gators dominated an at-the-time top-five team in Gainesville.

Still, Missouri is now a much more interesting game for the Rebels than it was just a few weeks ago, and suddenly, the Tigers appear to be a threat.

The less-surprising of these results is that Georgia took down Vanderbilt, despite a slow start. Georgia's trip to Ole Miss will be big for both teams' College Football Playoff hopes, and the Bulldogs look like a national title contender once again as they are undefeated to start October. Gunner Stockton threw for three touchdowns in Georgia's win over Vandy, and Bo Walker was the leading rusher with 71 yards on five carries.

The Rebels return to action this week in Nashville against Vanderbilt. Kickoff on Saturday is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/olemiss as What Saturday Changed About Ole Miss' Path Through the SEC.