After a tight win against an unranked Washington State last week, the then-No. 5 Rebels came into Athens, Ga., with much more energy. However, the Rebels lost 43-35 after a rough fourth quarter on Oct. 18.
The offense was composed and utilized quick passes
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the Rebel offense clicked in the first three quarters. Ole Miss scored a touchdown on its first five drives.
Chambliss delivered the ball quickly, completing passes to eight different receivers. These quick-hitter throws put the Rebels in many third-and-manageable situations. The Rebels did not face a third down attempt longer than nine yards and converted on all five of their attempts.
One of the Chambliss’ short completions to wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling resulted in the Rebels’ longest play of the game when Stribling made a defender miss and then outran the rest of the Georgia defense for a 75-yard touchdown.
Even when his receivers were not open, Chambliss made plays with his legs. On the third drive of the game, Chambliss’ third-down scamper kept the drive alive.
Until the fourth quarter, Chambliss was unfazed by the Georgia crowd. He delivered into tight windows and remained cool even when the pocket collapsed. Though the offense lost its way at the end of the game, the first five drives of the game were encouraging after last week’s mishaps.
“I think I handled (the crowd) pretty well. I trusted the scheme and our coaches. We loved the environment and we loved the atmosphere,” Chambliss said in his postgame press conference. “We had them today and just couldn’t get it done. Now it’s time to prepare for Oklahoma.”
The defense needs to be better
While the Rebel offense started out red-hot, the defense could not seem to find its footing all afternoon. Pete Golding’s unit surrendered points on every Georgia drive of the game.
The front seven were largely unable to pressure Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton. The Rebels finished the game with only one sack, and Stockton threw for 289 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another 59 yards and a touchdown.
The Bulldog drives were long, sustained and punishing. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs marched down the field for a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that chewed up over six minutes of the game clock.
Once Ole Miss stopped scoring, Georgia gained control. The Bulldogs scored 17 unanswered points to close out the game. Though the Rebels held Georgia to a field goal with 2:06 left to keep the game within reach, Georgia’s 43 points still proved too many to surmount.
“Georgia did a good job today, but that’s not the number one offense in the country,” head coach Lane Kiffin said in his postgame press conference. “Thirty-four first downs (are) really concerning. There’s a lot of things we gotta work on.”
The running game disappointed
Though running back Kewan Lacy finished the game with two rushing touchdowns, his 31 yards on 12 carries were hardly enough to open up the passing game. Kiffin suggested that this failure to establish the run was part of the reason why the offense slowed down at the end of the game.
“We didn’t finish like we were supposed to,” Kiffin said. “Maybe we should’ve run the ball more and taken the pressure off Trinidad.”
Entering this game, Lacy’s fewest number of carries in a game this season was 16 against Georgia State. He still finished that game with 108 rushing yards.
In the Rebels’ last three drives of the game, they ran the ball only once — a 12-yard run by Lacy. If the offense had rotated in runs on early downs, Chambliss likely would not have been forced into obvious passing situations on third and long.
