AP college football poll: Ole Miss stays at No. 13, Mississippi State receives votes

The Ole Miss football team clicked on all cylinders in a 45-10 blowout of Tulane on Saturday, keeping the Rebels ranked in the No. 13 spot in the latest Associated Press Top 25.

Ole Miss (4-0, 2-0 SEC) remained in the top-15 after a balanced effort paved the way for a dominant outing versus a tough Tulane (3-1) team. Offensively, the Rebels logged 548 total yards courtesy of another stellar showing by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and his cornucopia of weapons. On the other side of the ball, Pete Golding’s defense led a redemptive effort, holding the Green Wave to 282 total yards of offense.

Ole Miss opened the first half red-hot, scoring on all six drives and taking a 23-3 lead into halftime. A series of deep passes, short-yard touchdowns, and field goals by Lucas Carneiro underscored a strong offensive effort in the opening two quarters.

The Rebel defense, which led a solid showing in the first half, forced three straight turnovers on downs after halftime, virtually eliminating any hopes Jon Sumrall’s team had of playing spoiler. As Tulane ebbed offensively, highlighted by a seven-minute red zone drive resulting in a fourth-down stop by the Rebels to open the third quarter, Ole Miss continued to tack points onto the scoreboard to run away with the game.

In his second Division I start, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss completed 17 of 27 passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns. Six of his completions went for more than 20 yards. The Ferris State also logged a team-best 112 yards on the ground. The senior became the fourth Rebel quarterback in team history to have a 300-yard passing and 100-yard rushing performance, etching his name in the record books alongside Archie Manning, Chad Kelly, and Jordan Ta’amu.

The dual-threat’s top target was Deuce Alexander. The Wake Forest transfer had 94 yards and a touchdown in the air. Reliable tight end Dae’Quan Wright had 71 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. Running back Kewan Lacy assisted in the ground game with 68 yards and two scores.

The Rebel defense, facing a quarterback in Jake Retzlaff who plays a similar style as Arkansas signal caller Taylen Green, limited Tulane’s production drastically compared to what it had accomplished a week ago. Retzlaff, a BYU transfer, completed just one pass in the first half and went on to tally an underwhelming 58 total yards in the air.

Ole Miss held a Tulane ground attack that had averaged 222 yards per game through its first three performances to 178 yards and no scores. Retzlaff was Tulane’s top rusher with 51 yards on eight carries. Jaden Yates led the way with 11 tackles and was in on a drop-down for a loss. Defensive tackle William Echoles was a force in the interior. His day ended with eight tackles, a pass breakup, and an assist on a tackle for loss.

An unsung hero of the game was Carneiro, the former CUSA Special Teams Player of the Year. Carneiro was perfect in all three field goal attempts and flawless in each of his four point-after shots. His longest kick came from 54 yards away from the goalpost, tying a personal-best record.

Ole Miss will have the chance to crack the top 10 this coming weekend when No. 4 LSU rolls into Oxford. That game will kick off on Sep. 27 at 2:30 p.m. CT. ABC and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations will broadcast the game.

Mississippi State received multiple votes but did not quite crack the rankings after Saturday’s 38-10 win over Northern Illinois. The Bulldogs (4-0), however, will have a golden opportunity to make a top 25 appearance if they take down No. 15 Tennessee this weekend. That game will kick off on Sept. 27 at 3:15 p.m. CT. The SEC Network and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations will air the matchup.

The full top 25 can be found below: