Coming off a heartbreaking loss last week to Texas, the 12th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels returned home to face the Auburn Tigers, where a statement win could help settle some doubts as Georgia looms on the horizon. In the first year of the nine-game Southeastern Conference slate, Ole Miss, like many others, has fallen victim to the SEC’s carnage, with two losses. If the Rebels want to reach the College Football Playoffs, they need to finish the November slate without a loss, and Saturday needs to be a statement win to calm the Rebels’ national nerves.
With four games remaining in the regular season, the runway for the Rebels to reach the College Football Playoffs might be difficult with a matchup with Georgia on Saturday, but if Trinidad manages the game in the way he managed the second half of the Auburn game, then there’s an outside chance the Rebels could play spoiler and sneak into the College Football Playoff for a second straight year. They might even play their way into a hosting spot, bringing football back to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium before Christmas and setting the stage for another potential College Football Playoff run like last season, when people counted the Rebels out after the drama with the former coach. As we’ve seen with this team over the last year and a half or so, when people start to doubt the Rebels, Coach Pete Golding and his staff seem to ignite something in the locker room and position Ole Miss to compete at the highest levels. We saw that on Saturday afternoon as the Rebels dominated Auburn, cruising to an easy 45-10 win over the Tigers.
With Kewan Lacy’s dislocated shoulder, the Rebels will go as Trinidad Chambliss goes, and on Saturday he looked like the Trinidad Chambliss of old. Throwing for 263 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for a touchdown as well. Chambliss had just one interception and really seemed to control the tempo against a pesky Auburn defense. When Trinidad Chambliss plays to his skill set and football IQ, it’s hard to make a case against him as one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and for the Rebels to return to the College Football Playoff, they need him at his best.
Helping Trinidad Chambliss on the offensive side of the ball has been a wide receiver group of guys who pull their own weight and provide weapons for Chambliss to trust. Saturday alone, Ole Miss had Horatio Fields and Caleb Cunningham score touchdowns. Then, with Kewan Lacy out, the same deal has been working in the rushing attack, as Ole Miss has three guys score touchdowns: Shekai Mills-Knight, Trinidad Chambliss, and Deuce Knight. Those two groups make Trinidad’s job easier with the weapons to connect with, giving the Rebels ample amounts of ways to score.
After giving up 257 rushing yards last week against Texas, the Ole Miss defense locked things down in the trenches, allowing Auburn only 63 yards on the ground and one touchdown. A remarkable turnaround, as Saturday’s defensive production against Auburn mirrored Ole Miss of old. The defense will have its hands full on Saturday when Georgia comes to town, but the Rebels have momentum and optimism that they’re heading back in the right direction for the rest of the season. The secondary still needs work, but the first-down run is shutting down.
As for this week with Georgia on Saturday, it’s another one of those weeks for Ole Miss where they’ll be playing as the underdog with something to prove. Georgia is in a position where all they have to do is take care of business, and they’ll be playing in both the SEC Championship and likely a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
Photo Credits- Ole Miss football on X
