Ole Miss walked out of Vanderbilt’s FirstBank Stadium with the kind of clean, convincing performance it had been chasing since the Florida loss, and the Rebels had answers almost everywhere. Pete Golding’s defense looked settled again, the front seven brought real disruption, and the trip to Nashville turned into a reset before Missouri comes to the Vaught next week.
The biggest reason the Rebels could breathe easy was Trinidad Chambliss. He kept rolling in his Heisman push, throwing for 213 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding another score on the ground, all in just three quarters of work.
He did throw an interception, but it came after a catchable ball to Horatio Fields was bobbled and handed to Vanderbilt. So far, when Ole Miss runs into problems, Chambliss has not been the one causing them.
Deuce Knight took over in the fourth quarter, got a few carries, and did not throw a pass.
The ground game had a different look, too. Kewan Lacy did not see much action, whether that was tied to the training staff’s limits or simply the game getting out of hand.
Makhi Frazier handled most of the workload and made the most of it, looking more and more like the back Ole Miss expected when the Michigan State transfer arrived. Shekai Mills-Knight needed only one touch to find the end zone, turning it into a 35-yard touchdown run.
Trinidad Chambliss had the spotlight, but Deuce Alexander kept doing what he always seems to do. The Chambliss-Alexander connection keeps building its own place in Ole Miss lore, and that rhythm was on display again.
Still, the day also belonged to the guys around them. Traylon Ray and Caleb Odom each had solid outings, and Caleb Cunningham delivered a big third-down conversion in the first half.
For a redshirt freshman, that kind of play lands with force.
Up front, there was not much to write home about - which is usually a good sign for an offensive line. When the blocking is working, the notes get shorter.
Defensively, Jamarious Brown made his presence felt in a big way. After saying less than a week ago that he was “fading to the background” on this Ole Miss defense, he answered with a goal-line fade touchdown and then a tackle for loss on the very next snap. Will Echoles also stood out on that side of the ball and made the celebration even better by dancing with Brown after the score.
Blake Purchase added two sacks, giving him more than double his season total and keeping him atop the team in that category. Vanderbilt never found the kind of running room Florida did against Ole Miss, and that alone tells you plenty about the difference in this performance.
Suntarine Perkins finally had the kind of moment Ole Miss has been waiting for. He scooped up a long, carromed fumble and took it in for a touchdown, then added a sack for good measure.
After a quiet opening stretch, it was the sort of play that reminded everyone what the Rebels need from him. Keaton Thomas and Luke Ferrelli were all over the field as well, helping tie the whole defensive effort together.
The secondary had a strong day across the board. Jaylon Braxton and Sharif Denson clearly took the tackling criticism personally, and it felt like they were around the ball all afternoon. Antonio Kite picked off a pass, and Nick Cull added another interception that stood out even more, using quick instincts to snag a dropped ball.
In Other News...
ManningCast Keeps Ole Miss Tied To A National Football Spotlight
Jim Nantz is set for his first appearance on the ManningCast during Monday Night Football, adding another familiar voice to a broadcast that has become one of the NFLs most-watched side attractions. Peyton Manning personally invited Nantz to join the ESPN2 telecast for the Bills-Rams game, giving the alternate feed another notable crossover moment while the regular game broadcast runs on ABC and ESPN.
For Ole Miss fans, it is another reminder of how closely the Manning family keeps the program connected to the biggest stages in football. The ManningCast has already turned into a national showcase for Peyton and Eli Manning, and Nantzs stop by the show only extends that reach, especially with his own schedule already carrying him through a CBS NFL game on Sunday before he heads into Monday night. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Already Faces A Familiar Test Against Vanderbilt
Ole Miss is back in SEC play with a matchup that already feels like a measuring stick, especially after both teams came in looking to steady themselves from recent losses. The Rebels got a welcome boost with Kewan Lacy returning from injury, while Vanderbilt brought its own intrigue with Jared Curtis expected back at quarterback, setting up a game that has plenty of familiarity and just enough uncertainty to matter.
The early action has matched the tone of the matchup, with Ole Miss finding the end zone and Vanderbilt answering with a field goal to keep the pressure on. For a Rebels team trying to reassert itself in conference play, the challenge is less about the opening sequence than what comes next, because Vanderbilt has already shown enough to make this one feel like it could turn on a handful of critical snaps. [Read more 🡒]