Ole Miss vs. Tulane live updates: Rebels, Green Wave meet again in College Football Playoff first round

Live updates, highlights and analysis as Ole Miss battles Tulane in Round 1 of the College Football Playoff

December football has arrived in Oxford, Mississippi, and with it comes a rematch that looks nothing like the one we saw in September. No. 6 Ole Miss hosts No. 11 Tulane on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the College Football Playoff, turning Vaught-Hemingway Stadium into a charged and unfamiliar stage.

Lane Kiffin, the architect of the Rebels' rise, is no longer on the sideline, leaving Ole Miss to navigate its biggest moment under new leadership and a cloud of uncertainty. With Pete Golding making his debut as coach and a fan base packing Oxford for the most significant home game in program history, the atmosphere figures to be equal parts electric and anxious.

The Rebels dominated the Green Wave 45-10 earlier this season, but both programs enter this showdown amid major transition. Jon Sumrall has been splitting time between Tulane and his next gig at Florida, creating an unavoidable question about focus on the Green Wave sideline.

Keep it locked here as CBS Sports provides you with live updates, highlights and analysis as Ole Miss battles with Tulane in a first-round College Football Playoff game.

[Dec 20, 2025 at 2:30 pm ET · Brandon Marcello]

Jon Sumrall needs a pick-me-up. 

It's break time after Tulane's first practice in preparation for the College Football Playoff, and in between phone calls, the head coach is receiving a cocktail of fluids and vitamins via an intravenous drip.

That's life for Sumrall, who might be the busiest, most sleep-deprived man in college football. While preparing to lead Tulane into its first-ever playoff appearance this week, he's also busy assembling a staff and handling the duties of his new job at Florida, one of the biggest programs in the sport.

"There's no official end of the day," Sumrall says over the phone. "You work as long as you can until you pass out."

Two jobs, two phones, one goal: Jon Sumrall's College Football Playoff balancing act -- Tulane and Florida

Brandon Marcello

[Dec 20, 2025 at 2:15 pm ET · John Talty]

Tulane is better than the 35-point whupping it received back in September. And with all the change and drama Ole Miss has experienced in the last month, it is easy to see how this result will be closer. But even with all that said, I don't see how Tulane pulls off the upset in Oxford. The team is fired up to play for new head coach Pete Golding. Ole Miss fans have been waiting for a moment like this their whole lives and the Rebels are simply too talented for Tulane to keep up. Take the Rebels. Pick: Ole Miss -17.5

[Dec 20, 2025 at 2:00 pm ET · John Talty]

Kewan Lacy was not a Heisman Trophy finalist like Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love. He didn't make first-team All-America at CBS Sports, the Associated Press or Sporting News. But it's long past time more people know about Ole Miss' star running back. Lacy finished with the nation's second-most rushing touchdowns at 20 and totaled 1,279 rushing yards. In his last two games alone, against Florida and Mississippi State, he rushed for 367 yards and four touchdowns while serving as the engine of the Rebels' offense. Trinidad Chambliss understandably draws most of the attention, but Lacy presents another major challenge Tulane must solve Saturday.

[Dec 20, 2025 at 1:30 pm ET · John Talty]

Almost nothing went right for the Green Wave in the first meeting. While Kiffin's departure creates opportunity, Tulane is dealing with its own challenges. Sumrall and offensive coordinator Will Hall are both pulling double duty as Sumrall prepares to leave for Florida and Hall gets ready to take over as head coach. Tulane used two quarterbacks in the first matchup, Jake Retzlaff and Brendan Sullivan, and neither found success. The pair combined for just 104 passing yards on 29 attempts. Since then, Retzlaff has settled in and helped Tulane close the season on a five-game winning streak. Even if Ole Miss is less explosive offensively, Tulane will still need to keep pace, and that will require an efficient night from Retzlaff. Running back Jamauri McClure, who had only three carries in the first meeting, enters hot after rushing 22 times for 121 yards and a touchdown in the American Championship Game win over North Texas.

[Dec 20, 2025 at 1:00 pm ET · John Talty]

In the aftermath of Kiffin's messy departure, it's the biggest question heading into this game. Kiffin, long regarded as one of the sport's top offensive minds, is gone, and it's fair to wonder how that affects the Rebels' offense even with coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. staying on for the playoff run. In his first game as head coach, does Golding take a more conservative approach than Kiffin? Does Ole Miss lean more heavily on the run and embrace a defense-wins-championships mindset? This will be our first real look at what Golding's version of Ole Miss looks like, and it will be fascinating to see how closely he sticks to what worked under Kiffin.

[Dec 20, 2025 at 12:30 pm ET · John Talty]

There are two College Football Playoff first-round rematches on deck this weekend, and the second of the two goes down on Saturday when No. 6 Ole Miss hosts No. 11 Tulane. These two met in September when Ole Miss rolled to a 45-10 win on its way to an 11-1 regular-season record. That game helped cement Trinidad Chambliss as the Rebels' quarterback of the future. Starting in place of an injured Austin Simmons, Chambliss threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns while adding 112 yards on the ground.

Much has changed since that Sept. 20 meeting in Oxford.

Ole Miss vs. Tulane prediction, pick, spread: Rebels look for second win over Green Wave, this time in CFP

John Talty