Ole Miss hosted Auburn in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Oct. 31. The Rebels won 45-15, but it initially looked uncertain if the Rebels could secure a win. A scramble by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss set the tone in the early second half for a major turnaround in momentum.
Chambliss was 22-of-34 in the air with 263 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also added 65 rushing yards on seven carries. Sophomore Shekai Mills-Knight had a breakout game with 71 on 16 carries and a touchdown.
First half
Auburn won the toss and elected to defer. The Rebels took the ball at the Auburn 25-yard line, and Chambliss quickly handed it off to running back Makhi Frazier for four yards. He then connected with wide receiver Deuce Alexander for 19 yards.
Chambliss attempted two more passes to Alexander but could not complete either throw. After a short run by Frazier, Oscar Bird hit the field to punt.
The Rebel offense seemed rushed, and as if they were trying to force plays to happen.
Tiger quarterback Byrum Brown completed several series of short passes for three first downs. Running back Jeremiah Cobb ran for 10 yards himself to get Auburn to midfield.
A false start and illegal formation put the Tigers at third-and-19, where they were unable to convert and sent out their punt team.
Wide receiver Horatio Fields caught a 15-yard pass to pick up a first down. Frazier ran for 13 yards to move the chains. Later in the drive, the Rebels attempted a trick play. Chambliss passed to wide receiver Traylon Ray who threw to a wide-open Deuce Alexander near the end zone, but Alexander dropped the pass. Had he caught it, Alexander could have walked in for the score.
Mills-Knight added another first down. A defensive holding call against Auburn gave the Rebels a red zone position.
Chambliss targeted tight end Caleb Odom in the end zone on third-and-goal from the nine. A pass interference call pushed the Rebels to the 2-yard line and made it first down again.
After two rushing attempts by Chambliss and Frazier, the first quarter ended with no score by either team. The Rebel offense seemed skittish and rushed, forcing plays when there were none.
In the first play of the second quarter, defensive lineman Will Echoles rushed for a 1-yard touchdown.
Linebacker Luke Ferrelli started the next drive with a 4-yard tackle for loss; however, after getting into third-and-14, the Rebels gave up a long pass to midfield for a Tiger first down.
After more short pass plays, the Rebels forced Auburn to third-and-8, then wide receiver Christian Neptune caught a pass for a first down.
The Tigers went for it on fourth-and-3, and Brown scrambled for four yards to get the first down. Brown found wide receiver Chas Nimrod for the touchdown.
Rebel defensive tackle Jaheim Otis blocked the Tigers’ extra point attempt and defensive back Jaylon Braxton caught the tipped ball and ran it back to the Ole Miss 3-yard line, just missing the end zone.
The Rebel offense took the field again, starting with a quick hand off to Mills-Knight for five yards. Chambliss looked for Alexander, but the pass was intercepted by AnQuon Fegans.
The pass bounced off of Alexander’s mask. While not entirely Chambliss’ fault, he never looked away from Alexander, making the pass obvious.
Brown passed to Neptune behind the line of scrimmage, setting up a pass to Nimrod in the end zone. The throw was incomplete, but defensive back Antonio Kite was called for pass interference. On the next play, Brown carried it himself but fumbled, and the Rebels recovered it.
The stadium erupted and the momentum seemed to swing towards the Rebels. Mills-Knight ran for 15 yards, then wide receiver Caleb Cunningham caught a pass for 11 yards.
Chambliss connected with Cunningham for 21 yards. The following play, Chambliss stayed with Cunningham for a 7-yard gain.
Mills-Knight spoke of Cunningham’s skill, their relationship and motivating each other in the postgame press conference.
“He has unbelievable potential,” Mills-Knight said. “We just (act) as iron sharpening (iron), it’s our thing. We just iron sharpers. We motivate each other every day.”
Alexander ran for six yards on an end-around deep in the red zone but stepped out of bounds at the 4-yard line to set up third-and-1. Mills-Knight ran it in himself 1-yard for his first collegiate touchdown, 14-6 Rebels.
Edge rusher Suntarine Perkins began Auburn’s next offensive drive with a sack for a loss of two yards. Brown completed a 23-yard pass to Neptune on third-and-10 to get to the Ole Miss 43-yard line.
Defensive tackle Jayden Curtis sacked Brown for a loss of eight, but a holding penalty on safety Nick Cull led to an automatic first down. Auburn kicker Alex McPherson made the 29-yard field goal to make the score 14-9 at the half.
The Rebels could consistently get Auburn to a third down but were unable to get a stop on the next play. Ole Miss allowed the Tigers to convert on five of eight third downs in the first half.
Second half
Auburn had the ball to begin the second half, which began with a three-and-out. The Rebel defense successfully got a stop on third down. Perkins made a big play on third down after knocking the ball out of midair.
The Rebel offense took the field at the Ole Miss 38-yard line. Fields caught a 7-yard pass, then Frazier rushed twice for a gain of 11. Chambliss found Alexander downfield for a 25-yard pick up.
Chambliss ran up the middle for fifteen yards, followed by two rushes by Frazier for no gain. On third-and-goal from the three, Chambliss looked to tight end Caleb Odom in the end zone, but his pass was incomplete. Kicker Lucas Carneiro kicked a 20-yard field goal to and extend the Rebel lead to 17-9.
The Tigers had several rushes to get a few yards but big catches got them down the field. On a third-and-11, Brown found Neptune for 15 yards. A few plays later, Brown connected to wide receiver DeShawn Spencer for 15 yards.
A pass interference penalty by Dorian Barney on Brown’s untouchable pass pushed the Tigers to the red zone. Brown ran it in himself for the touchdown.
Auburn elected to attempt a 2-point conversion. After a false start penalty, the Tigers were pushed back five yards. Brown was unable to connect with Neptune to convert, keeping the score at 17-15.
The Rebels returned to the field, and the drive began with Mills-Knight rushing for four yards, then Alexander caught a 9-yard pass. On third-and-11, after a negative rush and incomplete pass, Chambliss scrambled for 13 yards, picking up a first down.
After the rush, an unnecessary roughness penalty against Auburn gave Ole Miss more yards. Chambliss rushed again two plays later for 26 yards into the end zone. Carneiro drilled the extra point, giving the Rebels a 24-15 lead.
Chambliss finally looked comfortable and seemed like himself making plays happen and scrambling for a first down. He had seemingly eliminated his legs in the past few games, but his running game reappeared in Week 9.
Auburn started with the ball on the 1-yard line and went three-and out, having gained just six yards during the drive.
Alexander caught a quick 3-yard pass from Chambliss, then Chambliss found Cunningham for six yards. He ran for two himself then connected deep down the field with Odom for a 34-yard pickup.
To start the fourth quarter, Mills-Knight ran for 10 yards, then Chambliss had back-to-back rushes for a total of nine yards.
Chambliss then found Cunningham for a 4-yard pickup. The following play Cunningham scored a touchdown on a six-yard completion. Carneiro completed the extra point kick, extending the Rebel lead to 31-15.
The Rebel defense forced a three-and-out again on the Tigers’ next drive. A short 2-yard catch and an incomplete pass set up third-and-8. Tah’j Butler sacked Brown for a loss of 10 to force a punt.
Traylon Ray ran the punt back for 25 yards. Chambliss completed a pass to Samari Reed for a first down then found Fields for a 28-yard touchdown. Carneiro completed the extra-point kick, making the score 38-15.
Ole Miss forced the Tigers off the field again with no score. Perkins charted a sack and quarterback hurry during the drive.
Head coach Pete Golding spoke of the defense’s second half adjustments in the post game presser.
“I thought the front six did a good job. Some of them being by design, some of them being by effort,” Golding said. “They came back in the second half and responded, but I thought it was a combination of early down success in the run game and get them behind the chains.”
Frazier had a gain of 12 yards then lost two on a run up the middle. Chambliss completed a deep, 19-yard pass to tight end Luke Hasz.
On the next throw, Chambliss was looking for Dye, but it was nearly intercepted. Quarterback Deuce Knight came in the following play. Knight ran the ball for 17 yards into the end zone for a touchdown to make the score 45-15.
Both the Rebels and Tigers exchanged a couple of possessions with their backups, but the score did not change.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will host the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs on Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
