If coming out on top despite going through the motions could be embodied by a performance on the football field, then No. 4 Ole Miss would be a perfect fit for that expression following its sloppy 24-21 win versus Washington State on homecoming.
The top-five Rebels (6-0, 3-0 SEC) did not play up to head coach Lane Kiffin’s standards on Saturday, as the team found itself having to force a last-second stop to emerge victorious over the Cougars (3-3), which had been on the losing side of lopsided final scores twice this season.
With 1:51 remaining in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss faced a third-and-four situation at the Washington State 42. Trinidad Chambliss took the snap and handed the ball off to Kewan Lacy, who had essentially carried his team all afternoon, for a loss of two yards. The butchered drive had promise earlier, with tight end Dae’Quan Wright moving the Rebels into enemy territory. After punting it away, Washington State had a prayer to play spoiler.
The Rebels, on the Cougars’ previous offensive drive, were penalized on a fourth-and-eight incompletion. A defensive holding call upended what would have been a forced turnover on downs, and instead, paved the way for a Washington State touchdown to cut the home club’s lead to three points.
With a little over a minute on the clock and no timeouts, Jimmy Rogers’ crew looked to carry its momentum into a scoring opportunity with the ball on its 10-yard line. Washington State’s chances of maneuvering the long field in a short amount of time were disrupted by a third-down sack by Rebel defensive lineman Will Echoles. But the spark was reignited on a 16-yard gain on fourth-and-14, followed by a pass interference penalty.
Washington State found itself at its 36-yard line with three seconds left in regulation. The remaining scoring options consisted of a Hail Mary to the end zone or a series of laterals falling into the right hands at the right time. Choosing the latter, the Cougars moved into Rebel territory, but fell around 38 yards shy of mounting the comeback. And the anxious home crowd, one that had been on pins and needles all game, sighed in relief.
Circling back to the beginning of the game, Ole Miss opened things up with three consecutive fruitless offensive drives — a turnover on downs in the red zone, a missed field goal, and a fumble — keeping the door open for a Washington State team that had struggled this season to garner confidence on the road.
Despite moving the ball downfield and marching into Cougar territory on each drive, the Rebels failed to put points on the board in the first quarter-and-a-half of action. Washington State capitalized on the lackadaisical offensive effort by the home team, striking first blood near the beginning of the second quarter.
The Rebels, however, corrected course late in the opening half. Following a missed 54-yard field goal by Cougar placekicker Jack Stevens, Ole Miss worked the ball back into Washington State territory midway through the second quarter. Western Kentucky transfer Lucas Carneiro redeemed an earlier miss with a 40-yard make to get the Rebels on the board.
Ole Miss would find its first touchdown of the contest in the waning seconds of the first half, with sure-handed tight end Dae’Quan Wright scoring in the red zone to put his team up 10-7 at the midway break.
The second half proved a little more effective for Ole Miss, though Washington State matched everything its opponent did. The Cougars took a 14-10 lead on an explosive run to deliver an effective gut punch early in the third quarter. Ole Miss eventually woke up offensively, scoring 14 straight points to take a two-score lead into the late minutes of the fourth quarter, and the team held on for dear life to win.
Chambliss was far from sharp against the Cougars. Although he played nearly flawlessly in his first three starts, he appeared dysrhythmic at times in his fourth start, missing throws and not reacting quickly enough to blitzes Washington State threw at him, resulting in multiple sacks and a costly fumble.
All things considered, however, Chambliss had a decent day, per the stat sheet. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. His top target was Wright, who had 80 yards and a touchdown. Chambliss also ran for 15 yards and a score. Moving forward, Kiffin elected not to publicly commit to Chambliss as his starting signal caller, as Austin Simmons continues to recover from an ankle injury.
“I feel like we didn’t execute as an offense when we were driving the whole game with the ball. just couldn’t finish in the red zone or when we were on their side of the field,” Chambliss said, later adding. “I just didn’t get the ball out quickly enough. I held the ball a little too long at times. That doesn’t help my o-line. Part of that’s on me.”
Lacy was the shining star of the offense on Saturday. The Missouri transfer ran the ball 24 times for 142 yards, averaging right at six yards per carry. Cayden Lee and De’Zhaun Stribling were productive in the matchup. Lee accounted for 56 receiving yards and a score, while Stribling had 63 yards.
“We were prepared for the game. Our coaches put us in a great position. I just feel like we didn’t click like we should have,” Lee said.
Defensively, Ole Miss was anchored by Kam Franklin. The Lake Cormorant native had six total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a pass breakup. Echoles, a Houston native, had four tackles, two of which were for a loss, and a crucial sack. Princewill Umanmielen, who has struggled to get home when pressuring quarterbacks this season, finally amassed a sack.
Ekhaus was solid for Washington State against the SEC foe, completing 24 of 31 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. His top target was Tony Freeman, who had nine catches, 90 yards, and a score. Running back Kirby Voorhees shone for the road Cougars, rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, linebacker Parker McKenna was all over the field, recording 12 total tackles. Washington State defensive lineman Isaac Terrell had a team-best two sacks and four tackles for loss, being a pest to the Ole Miss offensive line and Chambliss throughout the contest.
Scoring Summary
Washington State was handed a perfect storm of Ole Miss misfortunes in the first quarter and capitalized with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Zevi Eckhaus to Landon Wright to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead. Ole Miss, after a frustrating trio of opening offensive drives, finally landed on the scoreboard with 6:19 left in the second quarter when Lucas Carneiro connected on a 40-yard field goal.
The Rebels’ offense, on its next possession, appeared to be clicking, with Lacy highlighting the production. A series of productive rushes from the sophomore running back, tallying 41 yards, and a 30-yard bomb to Wright, set up the trusted tight end to catch a two-yard scoring pass from Chambliss in the waning seconds of the second quarter. Ole Miss carried a 10-7 lead into the intermission.
Washington State reclaimed its lead early in the third quarter, largely courtesy of a careless roughing the passer penalty by Da’Shawn Womack on 3rd and 17. Two plays after the chains were moved, Cougar running back Kirby Vorhees burst off a 46-yard run for a touchdown, putting the visitors up 14-10 with 10:19 left in the third quarter.
Ole Miss, after going three-and-out on its debut drive of the second half, began to find an offensive rhythm. A pair of 15-plus-yard passes from Chambliss to two of his wideouts opened the door for the dual-threat quarterback to use his legs on a 17-yard keeper on third-and-long. The scoring carry gave the Rebels a 17-14 advantage with 32 seconds left in the third quarter.
As the Rebel defense buckled down, limiting production from its non-conference opponent, the offense was ready to deliver the dagger. That play came with just under seven minutes left in regulation, when Chambliss connected with Cayden Lee, who used his shiftiness to evade a couple of defensers and score a 35-yard touchdown. Ole Miss then led 24-14. Nonetheless, Washington State was unwilling to wave the white flag.
A pair of gash plays and a short reception later, the Cougars had crossed midfield. The drive continued courtesy of a defensive holding that countered an incompletion on fourth-and-eight. Two plays later, a joint sack by Franklin and Jamarious Brown moved Washington State from the Ole Miss 15-yard line to the 17-yard line. However, Eckhouse delivered a strike to Tony Freeman the very next snap.
Ole Miss managed to hold on to a 24-21 lead and earn bowl eligibility for the sixth straight year.
Coach’s Comments
Though a win is a win, and Kiffin acknowledged that the scare could end up being a blessing in disguise down the road, he was remarkably displeased with the product on the field from his team. In his postgame message to the group, Kiffin lambasted the Rebels’ performance as one that does not live up to his expectations. He further acknowledged that the coaching staff and players are compensated too much monetarily to lead an outing like the one against Washington State.
“I’m just really disappointed. I hope they don’t feel good about it,” Kiffin said. “I just wanted to make sure they understood that this is not the standard that we play with here. A lot of guys are from different places and may not be used to what our standard is, and that’s not what we’re supposed to do. We paid a lot, they get paid a lot, and a lot of people come to our games.”
Speaking of the people who attend Ole Miss games, Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was packed in just about every section, except where the students sit. And that caught Kiffin’s attention. The sixth-year Ole Miss frontman has been on a consistent crusade about the crowds each season, except for the current one, until Saturday. Kiffin called out the Ole Miss students, contending that his offense had similarly failed to show up, just like those enrolled at the university.
“I thought our red zone offense showed up today like our students actually did today. It was very similar,” Kiffin said. “That’s on us. I told them all week, ‘The crowd probably won’t be what it’s been. You’re going to have to create your own energy.’ And we did that a little bit.”
Next Up
Ole Miss will begin a two-game road stint against teams in the upper echelon of the SEC. A matchup at No. 10 Georgia is next on the docket. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT, with ABC and participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations handling the broadcast.
