Ole Miss walked out of Texas with a 34-27 loss, but the story of the night was set long before the final stretch. The Rebels were buried 24-3 at halftime after an offense that never found any rhythm, then spent the second half clawing back before the comeback came up short.
For most of the first half, the Ole Miss attack just never got off the ground. Chambliss finished the half with 68 passing yards and an interception, and the Rebels managed only 76 rushing yards. Even that number got a boost from punter Oscar Bird, who picked up 17 yards on a fourth-down trick play.
John David Baker kept leaning on the flood concept, but Texas handled it repeatedly. The design rolled Chambliss to his right and stacked receivers on that side of the field, yet the Longhorns kept snuffing it out and forcing the kind of incompletions that stalled drives before they could breathe. Chambliss also missed throws from clean pockets and passed up some easy completions that could have helped him settle in.
Texas, meanwhile, controlled the game on both sides. Ole Miss allowed 258 total yards, and Arch Manning wasn’t rattled by the pressure. He threw for 171 yards and a touchdown, while the Longhorns added 87 rushing yards and repeatedly moved the ball on the ground against the Rebels.
Then came the flip. Ole Miss came out of halftime looking like a different team entirely.
On Texas’s opening drive of the second half, the Rebels forced a strip-sack fumble and recovered it in the end zone. That was the spark.
The defense followed with a three-and-out, and the offense answered with its first touchdown of the day, a score by Horatio Fields.
The momentum kept shifting. Cam Franklin took a huge sack that pushed Texas behind the chains and helped force a punt.
After another three-and-out, the Rebels defense got yet another stop on Arch Manning and company. Ole Miss eventually pulled even at 24-24, but the rally ran out of road.
Chambliss’ legs were part of the larger conversation, too. He is a sneaky good runner, capable of escaping the pocket or turning a designed run into a chunk gain, but he finished with just seven rushing yards.
That made it the third straight game with fewer than 10 rushing yards for him. With Kewan Lacy sidelined by injury, Ole Miss has to rethink its running identity, and Chambliss has to be a bigger part of that answer.
If he starts keeping some of those balls on draw plays, John David Baker's offense would become much less predictable.
The loss also dropped Chambliss to 1-3 in big SEC road environments. He lost to Georgia in Athens and beat Oklahoma last year. He has lost to Florida and Texas this year.
Still, the Rebels aren’t in a panic spot. Fans were warned not to overreact, and the case for that is simple: this is a two-loss team with Georgia coming to town in early November. Pete Golding has proved he knows how to be Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs with Chambliss.
The path is still there. If Ole Miss wins out, it will almost certainly be a two-loss team in the playoff field.
In Other News...
Arch Manning Added One More Twist To Ole Miss Loss
Texas win over Ole Miss came with a little postgame theater, thanks to Arch Manning and a sideline conversation that added another layer to an already notable night. The game was carried by ABCs top broadcast crew, with Holly Rowe on the sideline, and Manning used the moment after the final whistle to make a lighthearted pitch that she ought to be around more often when Texas takes the field.
It was a playful line, but it also carried a bit of history behind it, since Rowe, Manning and coach Steve Sarkisian were all part of a previous dustup that had already been smoothed over. Against Ole Miss, the whole exchange served as a reminder that even after the game ends, there can still be a little extra edge and a little extra entertainment attached to Texas football. [Read more 🡒]
Kirk Herbstreit Had The Perfect Reaction To Ole Miss Wild Finish
Ole Miss made one of the most dramatic pushes of Week 8 against Texas, storming back to tie the game before the Longhorns answered with a late touchdown to finish it off. The Rebels rally included a recovered onside kick that instantly became one of the nights biggest moments, and Kirk Herbstreit was right there to capture the chaos from his seat.
Herbstreit later shared a video of his reaction, making clear he was rooting for the spectacle more than for either sideline. It was the kind of candid, live-on-the-spot moment that college football fans love from him, and it came with Herbstreit set to be back on College GameDay in Bloomington for Minnesota-Indiana in Week 9. [Read more 🡒]
Paul Finebaum Just Reopened A Painful Ole Miss Quarterback Debate
Paul Finebaums latest pass through the SEC quarterback conversation landed right back in a familiar place for Ole Miss fans, because the Rebels are again attached to a debate about whether the position is settling games or tilting them the other way. His criticism centered on late-game mistakes across the league, including Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, whose three interceptions came in a tight matchup with Texas, the kind of performance that keeps an already sensitive conversation around Oxford from going away.
For Ole Miss, the sting is less about one analysts opinion than the reminder of how quickly a quarterbacks mistakes can define a game and shape the conversation afterward. Finebaum also pointed to late errors by Tennessees George MacIntyre in a loss to South Carolina, but the Rebels piece of the discussion is the one their fans will keep hearing, especially with Texas and Ole Miss already tied together by another frustrating finish. [Read more 🡒]