It was hard to imagine a game with this kind of hype living up to it, but Ole Miss’s win over LSU cleared that high bar.
With Lane Kiffin in the building for the first time since his dramatic exit from the Rebels late last season, the offense he left behind has absolutely dominated against LSU. With just 11 seconds left in the first half, Trinidad Chambliss—the unheralded Kiffin import from Division II Ferris State who blossomed into a superstar a year ago—stepped up into the pocket and found Deuce Alexander with a laser of a throw to the end zone, his second touchdown pass of the game. The score pushed the Rebels lead to 24–7.
The second half had been all LSU. Sam Leavitt has engineered two touchdown and one field goal drive to completely erase a big halftime deficit. A missed field goal by Ole Miss’s Lucas Carneiro, one of the nation’s most reliable kickers, also looms large. However, Chambliss answered the bell, scoring on a zone-read keeper from 14 yards out. Pete Golding made the gutsy call to go for two, and a pair of LSU penalties made it an easier choice, allowing JT Lindsey to punch it in from inside the 1-yard line to give the Rebels a 32–24 lead. Leavitt responded, leading the Tigers on a 14-play, 69-yard drive, but on fourth-and-goal, his throw to the end zone was deflected and intercepted by Jaylon Braxton, securing the win.
Here are our three leading takeaways from an incredible night in Oxford, Miss. Keep scrolling for live updates from Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde and Bryan Fischer from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Trinidad Chambliss has full control of the Heisman race
College football is littered with great players this season. The Miami duo of Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney have been electric. Jeremiah Smith may be the greatest Ohio State wide receiver in an absolutely stacked lineage of Buckeyes pass catchers. Every time Kamario Taylor throws a football, he’s liable to generate a few million impressions on social media. But the sport’s clear MVP—and the rightful Heisman front-runner—is Chambliss.
This isn’t a huge leap; the Rebels quarterback was firmly in the mix entering the season. But no one else in the country has a better set of wins than Ole Miss so far, after beating a very good Louisville team in Week 1 and what may be a great LSU team in Saturday’s emotion-filled battle. Chambliss was nearly perfect in the first half, and shook off a tough interception and an impressive comeback by the Tigers to retake the lead with a 14-yard zone-read keeper.
He’ll have plenty of opportunities to add to his résumé throughout the SEC season, but it wouldn’t surprise at all if the image of Chambliss getting the corner and scoring to send his former coach Lane Kiffin home a loser is the indelible image of his season when he’s suited up, ready to hear his name called in New York City two months from now. —Dan Lyons
The college football world overreacted to LSU smashing a bad Clemson team
Since LSU opened its season with a 51–10 win over Clemson on Sept. 5, here’s what Clemson has done: slogged to an ugly 22–7 win over Georgia Southern, and spotted North Carolina a 17–3 lead before coming back to win 28–20. It was not exactly coach Dabo Swinney’s 2018 superteam that Kiffin and friends dealt with in their Tiger Stadium debut. The lesson here is that the college football world, myself included, let that win color its view of a game that was played on pure adrenaline and emotion. LSU is a work in progress—Ole Miss is already here. —Patrick Andres
No Kewan Lacy, no problem
Lacy, Ole Miss’s star running back, left the game after landing hard on his left shoulder, the same shoulder he underwent surgery on this past spring, and did not return to the game in the fourth quarter. For the Rebels to win a game of this magnitude without one of the best running backs in the country speaks volumes about both Chambliss and the quality of weapons on this offense. Traylon Ray caught a team-high seven passes for 115 yards. Tight end Caleb Odom was a terror over the middle of the field. Deuce Alexander was a reliable target. Backup running back JT Lindsey only carried the ball four times but ran hard and converted the two-point try in the fourth quarter, barrelling up the middle and into the end zone.
Make no mistake, the Rebels need Lacy to get where they want to go. But it sure is comforting to Rebels fans that the train can more than stay on the tracks without a premier talent like Lacy. —Tim Capurso
LSU at Ole Miss live updates, scores, highlights and analysis
Players to watch: Key stats for LSU at Ole Miss
Ole Miss
- QB Trinidad Chambliss: 44 for 62 (70.1%), 561 yards, five TDs, one INT; 12 carries, 62 yards, one TD
- RB Kewan Lacy: 30 carries, 148 yards, three TDs; five receptions, 18 yards
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WR Deuce Alexander:
13 receptions, 235 yards, two TDs
LSU
- QB Sam Leavitt: 41 for 66 (62.1%), 574 yards, two TDs, four INTs; 23 rushes, 135 yards, five TDs
- QB Landen Clark: 7 for 10 (70%), one TD; seven carries, 42 yards, one TD
- RB Dilin Jones: 41 carries, 179 yards, two TDs; four receptions, 15 yards
- TE Trey'Dez Green: 10 receptions, 162 yards, one TD
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DE Princewill Umanmielen:
11 tackles, five sacks
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