Ole Miss has a bye week to sort through plenty, and the running back room deserves a serious look.
After the Rebels’ 52-28 blowout loss to Florida, Pete Golding & Co. have a chance to turn inward and evaluate where things stand. The defense will draw most of the attention, but the backfield has enough talent to matter, especially with Kewan Lacy sidelined by a shoulder injury and no timetable for his return.
That matters because Ole Miss did not just patch together depth at running back this offseason. The Rebels added JT Lindsey from LSU, Makhi Frazier from Michigan State and Joshua Dye from Southern Utah. They also already have Shekai Mills-Knight, a four-star 2025 prospect ranked by On3 as the No. 9 running back in the country, the top player in Tennessee and No. 146 nationally.
Lacy remains the starter and a Heisman contender, but the pieces behind him have shown enough to keep the staff interested. Against Florida, Ole Miss rushed for 128 yards, though quarterback Trinidad Chambliss led the team on the ground with 44 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries.
The running backs accounted for 84 yards on 20 carries, good for 4.2 yards per attempt. Lindsey finished with 11 carries for 31 yards, while Frazier had eight carries for 42 yards.
Those numbers are not flashy, but they do hint at what the group can offer when it gets a real chance. The game also got away early enough that the Rebels were forced to play from behind, which shifted the offense toward receivers Deuce Alexander and Chambliss’ second-half production.
Dye had only one carry, but he made it count, turning it into 11 yards late in the fourth quarter. That is hardly enough to make a full evaluation, but it did show he can help the offense.
Mills-Knight has not seen action this season, but he is another name who could enter the mix if he starts getting meaningful touches. The depth is there. The question now is how Ole Miss uses it.
For offensive coordinator John David Baker, this bye week puts the running back plan under the microscope. The Rebels invested heavily in the room, and the challenge now is turning that investment into production. Insurance only matters if it can actually help when the game starts going sideways.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Has A Trinidad Chambliss Problem It Must Fix Fast
Trinidad Chambliss put together the kind of night that can keep Ole Miss afloat, accounting for nearly 350 yards in a recent loss while throwing one touchdown and running for two more. Even in defeat, the Rebels got enough from Chambliss to see how dangerous he can be when the offense leans on his dual-threat ability, but the bigger picture is harder to ignore. Injuries have thinned the group around him, and the steady production Ole Miss needs from the rest of the offense has not shown up often enough.
Deuce Alexander remains one of the more important pieces in that effort at receiver, especially with Vanderbilt next on the schedule. The Rebels do not need Chambliss to be perfect, but they do need more of the burden spread around before SEC defenses can keep squeezing the same pressure points. If Ole Miss is going to get back on track, the answer has to come from more than one player carrying the entire load. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Fans Have A New SEC Quarterback Debate To Watch
Josh Pates latest SEC quarterback rankings gave Ole Miss plenty to chew on even after the Rebels recent loss, because Trinidad Chambliss stayed put at the top of the list. The analysts September 29 update continued to view Chambliss as the leagues most effective quarterback so far, a nod to the way he has carried the offense through the early part of the season and helped keep Ole Miss in the mix despite the setback.
Chambliss production helps explain the placement, with 102 completions on 144 attempts for 1,222 yards, along with eight touchdowns and three interceptions through four games. The ranking also adds a little extra edge to the SEC conversation for Mississippi State fans, since Kamario Taylor sits right behind him at No. 2 and Alabamas Keelon Russell is next at No. 3, setting up a quarterback debate that figures to keep moving as league play unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Suddenly Looks Like A Real Threat To Alabama
Mississippi States rise has changed the feel of the SEC race in a hurry. After ending a 12-year drought in ranked-vs.-ranked wins by knocking off No. 19 Missouri, the Bulldogs are up to No. 16 and suddenly carrying the kind of momentum that gets everyones attention in conference play.
Now comes the bigger test: an undefeated matchup with No. 7 Alabama, and it looks far less like a routine Tide appointment than it did a few weeks ago. Alabama has seen real growth from quarterback Keelon Russell, while Mississippi State has its own answer in Kamario Taylor, who leads the nation in touchdown passes this season, setting up a game with real stakes and even more intrigue. [Read more 🡒]