Trinidad Chambliss has given Ole Miss something a lot of programs spend years chasing: a quarterback who changes everything the moment he’s on the field.
He broke through last season and wasted no time becoming one of college football’s top players. This year, he’s kept rolling, already piling up more than 1,400 passing yards and 11 touchdowns. On Saturday, he’ll line up against Missouri and a familiar face in Austin Simmons.
That matchup comes with plenty of intrigue, but Chambliss has already made his larger point this fall. Ole Miss keeps running into heavyweight opponents - Missouri will be the Rebels’ fourth-ranked foe in six games - and the schedule has been brutal. Still, the team hasn’t blinked.
There are issues around him. The defense has not lived up to expectations, and the running game has spent much of the season missing in action. Even so, Ole Miss has the kind of confidence that only comes with a quarterback like Chambliss steering the ship.
When he’s under center, no game feels out of reach. The Rebels are averaging 38 points per game, and the offense has clearly been built around his ability to make defenses account for every inch of the field.
Chambliss can beat you through the air, and he does it at a level that keeps every defense honest. That alone creates problems. Add Kewan Lacy back into the mix, and Ole Miss suddenly has more ways to attack.
Lacy didn’t have a huge role in the Rebels’ big win over Vanderbilt, but the offense may have played its most complete game of the year anyway. Chambliss still wasn’t ready to call it finished.
“You could say that, but honestly I feel like we’re far from that,” Chambliss said on Saturday. “I feel like this team has a lot more potential and a lot more that they could do in a whole game.
We could probably play a better, complete game, honestly. It’s still kind of earlier in the season, so just still hoping for that and we’re going to keep working.”
That’s the part that should worry the rest of the SEC. Ole Miss has already shown enough to stay in the playoff conversation, and with one loss, the margin for error is thin. If this offense still has another gear, the Rebels may not be close to done proving it.
Saturday’s meeting with Missouri gives Chambliss another chance to make that case. The teams are both in the SEC hunt, and the quarterbacks know each other from being teammates a year ago. It’s the kind of game that puts the spotlight right back on Ole Miss’ biggest difference-maker.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Just Got A Week 7 Upset Call In Oxford
The Week 7 matchup in Oxford already had the feel of one of those SEC games that can tilt a season, and it picked up a little more intrigue when Greg McElroy weighed in with an upset pick. The former Alabama quarterback and college football analyst sees Missouri walking into a ranked-versus-ranked showdown and leaving with a win, pointing to the Tigers defense and running game as the traits that could make life difficult for Ole Miss.
There is also a familiar face in the mix, which only adds to the storyline for Rebels fans. Former Ole Miss quarterback Austin Simmons is now with Missouri, giving the meeting an extra layer beyond the usual conference stakes, and it is one more reason this game feels like it could carry more edge than a standard October SEC date in Oxford. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Offensive Line Is Earning Trust At The Perfect Time
A lopsided win over Vanderbilt gave Ole Miss more than a clean result on the scoreboard. It also gave Pete Golding a chance to point to the one area he has been waiting to see come together, the offensive line, where all five starters earned player-of-the-game honors for the first time this season. Golding singled out the development of right tackle Connor Howes and left tackle Terez Davis, while also crediting line coach John Garrison for helping the group make steady progress.
Now the timing matters even more with No. 13 Missouri next on the schedule. If the Rebels are going to keep expanding what the offense can do, continued growth up front will be a big part of it, especially against a ranked opponent that will likely make Ole Miss earn every snap. The encouraging part for the Rebels is that the line no longer looks like a question they are simply hoping to survive. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Brings An Awkward Reunion Into A Huge Ole Miss Test
As Ole Miss gets ready for a pivotal SEC matchup with Missouri, the game carries an extra layer of familiarity for Antonio Kite. The Rebels cornerback said the personal side of the meeting stands out because Missouri brings in former Ole Miss teammate Chris Graves Jr., one of several ex-Rebels now wearing Tiger colors after moving through the transfer portal.
It is the kind of wrinkle that has become more common in college football, where roster turnover can turn a conference game into something closer to a reunion. For Ole Miss, though, the larger issue remains the same: handling a Missouri team loaded with former Rebels and doing enough on Saturday to come away with a conference win. [Read more 🡒]