CFBP First Round betting: Tulane at Ole Miss lines, odds and best bet

The College Football Playoff (CFBP) continues after last night’s epic opener where Alabama rallied from 17 points down to secure a 34-24 win over Oklahoma. Saturday afternoon brings three more gridiron clashes to delight football fans around the world and those results will finalize the remaining eight teams left to battle for the national championship on Jan. 19. 

The middle game of the college afternoon brings a rematch of an early season beatdown. On Sept. 20, the 13th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels smacked the unranked Tulane Green Wave in a  45-10 victory at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Three months later, Tulane is back for another shot against Ole Miss and their 65,000+ fans with higher stakes on the line. 

Tulane dominated North Texas, 34-21, in the American Conference title game to secure a postseason bid following an 11-2 season. Head coach Jon Sumrall will be coaching the Florida Gators next season, but he has been permitted to finish out the 2025 season with the Green Wave. 

Meanwhile, Ole Miss holds an 11-1 record but is dealing with a coaching switch after Lane Kiffin packed his bags for LSU’s head coaching vacancy. Pete Golding steps into the unexpected opening in the head coaches office as he gets the Rebels ready for their biggest game of the season. Will Ole Miss come out prepared despite all of the distractions, or will Tulane celebrate an upset win in Oxford, Mississippi? 

CFBP First Round: #11 Tulane Green Wave (11-2) @ #6 Ole Miss Rebels (11-1) 

Kick Off: 3:30 p.m. ET  (Sat., 12/20/25)

Location: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (Oxford, Mississippi)

The Green Wave enter the postseason with solid records against the spread (7-6) and versus the moneyline (11-2). Ole Miss has a nearly equal record against those lines with one less game played on the campaign: a 7-5 mark versus the spread and an 11-1 record against the moneyline. Both teams have struggled against the over-under with Tulane holding a 4-9 record, while Ole Miss is at an even .500 mark (6-6) through 12 games.

Ole Miss is considered a heavy favorite to secure the home win with a 84% chance of victory on Saturday, per ESPN Analytics. 

Best Bet: Trinidad Chambliss 300+ Passing Yards

Trinidad Chambliss recorded 419 combined yards in the Rebels’ win over the Green Wave in September. The Ole Miss senior collected 307 yards through the air while recording 112 yards on the ground in the blowout win. In his first season leading the Rebels, Chambliss passed for 3,016 yards and 18 touchdowns while tossing three interceptions. The Michigan-native secured nearly 500 yards via the ground game while scoring six touchdowns with his legs in 2025. 

It will be fascinating to see how Tulane adjusts their approach from a few months ago. No one has really stopped Ole Miss’ third-ranked offense this season, averaging 498.1 yards a game and 37.3 points per game in 2025. The Green Wave must attempt to slow down the Rebels attack to have a chance on Saturday.

Football fans are in for a fun afternoon in Mississippi, particularly if the underdog squad from Tulane puts up a fight against Ole Miss. With moving parts behind the scenes for both schools, the staff then can get its players to focus on the task at hand the best should walk away with a date in the final eight of the 2025 college football tournament. The winner of the Tulane-Ole Miss matchup draws the third-seeded Georgia Bulldogs in Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. 

For more on the College Football Playoff, visit AMNY.com.

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