Ole Miss Football failed to capitalize on yet another golden opportunity to cement itself in the College Football Playoff with a massive home loss to Georgia on Saturday night. Despite two flops on the road against Florida and Texas, the Rebels had a chance to leave Week 10 with one of the strongest resumes in the nation. Instead, they were absolutely dismantled by No. 2 Georgia, ending any hope of a playoff appearance.
The Rebels 16-game home winning streak ended in embarrassing fashion in Week 10. From the kickoff, Ole Miss played extremely poor football. The 35-point loss was one of the Rebels’ worst defeats in recent memory.
This was not Ole Miss’ only missed opportunity to climb the ladder this season. Had the then-No. 4 Rebels defeated the Gators back in Week 4, they would have had a case for being the No. 1 team in the country.
A win over Texas would have significantly increased Ole Miss’ playoff odds. A Week 10 win would have all but guaranteed Ole Miss’ second consecutive CFP appearance. Instead, the Rebels floundered in all three games, a rather concerning trend of this season.
Two big keys for this game were whether the Rebels could stop the run on defense and run the ball well on offense. They did not do either. In the first half alone, Ole Miss allowed 183 rushing yards for seven yards per carry. Meanwhile, the Rebels ran for 37 yards, 2.5 a carry.
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was noticeably absent in the game. He had a measly 69 passing yards and was just 8-of-17 through the air through in the first half.
With the Rebels knocking on the door of their first touchdown of the game, Georgia blitzed and sacked Chambliss for a 16-yard loss. The Bulldogs blitzed again and forced an ugly interception from Chambliss.
On several occasions, Chambliss missed, or just did not see, open receivers. After a few down performances by Chambliss this season, Rebel fans thought he had rediscovered himself in last week’s big win over Auburn, but he did not look like the same player against Georgia.
Down 42-7, Golding pulled Chambliss from the game. Chambliss ended the game with 170 passing yards on 18-of-34 passing, along with one interception and one fumble. The Bulldogs sacked him four times.
Other stars were not exempt from Ole Miss’ putrid performance. Wide receiver Deuce Alexander did not have a catch. Running back Makhi Frazier had eight yards on the ground.
Running back Shekai Mills-Knight, whom fans were so excited about after his breakout game against Auburn, was somewhat of a bright spot with 52 rushing yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Horatio Fields also shined in a bleak night with 96 yards on eight catches.
Head coach Pete Golding sent out the hero of Ole Miss’ Sugar Bowl win over Georgia last season, kicker Lucas Carneiro, for a 56-yard field goal. Carneiro has not had that kind of range this season, and his kick was well short.
That is the second time in the past three weeks that Golding has sent Carneiro out for a long field goal in a situation when a field goal really does not mean anything. The first time came against Texas in Week 8. That kick was blocked.
This season, Ole Miss had a competitive schedule and a few good wins. The Rebels simply did not take advantage of enough opportunities. Unfortunately, Ole Miss’ 2026 playoff hopes went out with a whimper.
If Ole Miss’ 2023 52-17 loss on the road against Georgia was an indication that the Rebels still had many improvements to make before being able to compete with blue-blood programs, then this Week 10 matchup certainly showed that Ole Miss is a few steps away from reaching the next echelon of college football success.
The fans showed up and were loud to begin the game, but Ole Miss Football gave them nothing to cheer about. Still, even the fans were embarrassing at times. They threw wrist bands and beer onto the field in the second quarter after a questionable pass interference call against the Rebels.
“Obviously, we have to put a better product on tape for them (the fans). They showed up. They were loud,” Golding said in the postgame press conference. “That was an electric atmosphere to come into … but people want to cheer for things that look the way that they’re supposed to and are exciting to watch. There was nothing about that that was exciting to watch.”
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium might as well have been empty in the fourth quarter. It was as quiet as it has been in years.
