Tulane vs Ole Miss CFB Playoff First Round Best Picks

Following a win in the AAC title game, the 11th-seeded Tulane Green Wave are now set to take on the sixth-seeded Ole Miss Rebels in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. The kickoff is set for 3:30 pm ET on Saturday, with the game broadcast live on TNT. 

With both teams looking to make a statement on the sport’s biggest stage, let’s dive into our expert’s Tulane vs Ole Miss predictions and best bets for this game.

Tulane vs Ole Miss Predictions

• PICK #1: Ole Miss -17.5 (-105) Click Here to Bet
• PICK #2: Over 56.5 Total Points (-110) Click Here to Bet
• PICK #3: Trinidad Chambliss Over 36.5 Rushing Yards (-110) Click Here to Bet

PICK #1: Ole Miss -17.5 (-105) Click Here to Bet

Back in September, Ole Miss thrashed Tulane 45-10 in a game that got away from the Green Wave early on. Tulane’s defense couldn’t get off the field in that game, and Green Wave quarterback Jake Retzlaff struggled to find any momentum against the Ole Miss defense. Even though Lane Kiffin will not be on the sidelines this weekend for the Rebels, it’s hard to see a much different result this time around. Yes, Jon Sumrall will still coach this game for Tulane, but he has to have at least one foot in the door at Florida, and this simply has the feel of a bad matchup for his team. 

The main advantage Ole Miss holds in this game is on offense. As is typical for a Kiffin-led team, the Rebels rank inside the top 10 in both EPA per rush and EPA per pass, while also sitting at 16th in net points per drive. Furthermore, Ole Miss has the top quality drive rate in the country on the season, and it will match up against a Tulane defense that ranks 94th in defensive success rate, despite facing relatively inferior competition compared to what Ole Miss has gone up against. Finally, home field was a massive factor in last year’s playoff games, so let’s back that trend to continue and take Ole Miss to win by a large margin. 

PICK #2: Over 56.5 (-110) Click Here to Bet

Even though the Green Wave struggled to score in the first meeting, we can expect the Tulane offense to come out a bit stronger this time around. Even after the poor performance in September, this is still an offense that ranks 11th in passing success rate, and we expect them to pull out all the bells and whistles in a game where the Green Wave has very little to lose. 

On the other side, the Ole Miss offense is one of the top units in the country, and the Rebels should still be able to produce without Kiffin on the sidelines. Tulane’s defense allowed 45 points in the first meeting, and even if the Green Wave allows fewer points this time around, there should still be enough ammunition from both sides to get us over the total on Saturday. 

PICK #3: Trinidad Chambliss Over 36.5 Rushing Yards (-110) Click Here to Bet

For our final pick in this college football playoff matchup, let’s get away from a side or total and target Trinidad Chambliss to clear his rushing yards prop. The Ole Miss quarterback has often turned to his legs in the biggest moments this season, and he’s cleared this rushing prop number in six of his last 10 games played.

Given the fact that he finished with 112 rushing yards in the first meeting between these teams, Chambliss can be counted on to put up a solid showing on the ground in this one.