Victory was sweet for No. 6 Ole Miss on Saturday. What made matters sweeter is that the Rebels clinched a ticket to the Sugar Bowl after taking down Tulane 41-10 in the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff game.
Highlighted by a record-breaking crowd of 68,251 fans, most of whom were donning Santa hats, a drone show, and wristbands that lit up in unison, Ole Miss made history in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as the first program in Mississippi to achieve such a feat. It was also Pete Golding’s first game as the Ole Miss head coach, following Lane Kiffin’s unprecedented departure two days after the Egg Bowl.
The ability to make some decisions where before you want to go for it, do you want to punt, do you want to take the points, all those things, things that you’ve been talking through for years to finally be the last voice, it kind of hit me some,” Golding said of his first game as the team’s frontman.
“Then just more the excitement for the players, how they responded. Some of those hugs will get you a little bit, you know. I think there’s been so much work to have been done up to this point, you really couldn’t take a deep breath.”
Conerly Trophy-winning quarterback Trinidad Chambliss completed 23 of 29 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 36 yards and two scores. Doak Walker Award finalist Kewan Lacy led Ole Miss on the ground with 87 yards and a touchdown. He was banged up a couple of times throughout the matchup and was escorted to the locker room in the second half with a bruised shoulder. The top receiving target for Ole Miss was Deuce Alexander with 87 yards on seven catches.
“To be in the College Football Playoff and to be a competitor for a national championship, I mean, that was the goal,” Chambliss said. “There were a lot of doubters that thought we were going to be a mid-tier SEC team. We knew what we were capable of this whole year, and we knew that we’re a contender for the national title. Now I hope we’re putting the world on notice for that.”
Turnovers were a big key to the game, and Ole Miss was the beneficiary of the takeaway battle. The Rebels forced and recovered a pair of fumbles, intercepted a pass, and stopped Tulane on fourth down four times, while only coughing up the ball once. Rebel linebackers TJ Dottery and Suntarine Perkins forced the fumbles, while defensive back Jaylon Braxton had the pick.
The up-tempo Ole Miss offense was red-hot right out of the gate, scoring a pair of touchdowns in just seven plays. Lacy took a 20-yard carry into the end zone, and Chambliss scored on a four-yard keeper. Meanwhile, Golding’s bend, but don’t break defense also flashed, forcing an interception and a turnover on downs, both of which occurred as Tulane was driving in Ole Miss territory.
Jon Sumrall’s defense caught its breath and adjusted after a speedy start by the Rebels’ offense. Ole Miss was forced to punt on consecutive drives, as the Green Wave worked to reduce its deficit. A 39-yard field goal by Tulane kicker Patrick Durkin put the visitors on the board, and the Rebels led 14-3 early in the second quarter. A special teams showdown brewed, with Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro knocking down a neutralizing 42-yard field goal as halftime neared.
A quick three-and-out by Tulane gifted Ole Miss a golden opportunity to take a three-score lead to the break with two minutes on the clock. Nonetheless, disaster ensued when both Lacy and Chambliss were sidelined with injuries at different points during the two-minute drill. Austin Simmons checked into the game at quarterback and, after completing a pair of passes, fumbled in the red zone. Tulane defensive tackle Eliyt Nairne recovered the loose ball with 15 seconds on the clock. Ole Miss led 17-3 at the intermission.
Fortunately for Ole Miss, both Chambliss and Lacy returned to the field in the second half. Following a Tulane punt on its opening drive, the red and blue’s offense moved methodically down the field, capping an 80-yard scoring drive with a touchdown caught by De’Zhaun Stribling.
As was the case in the first half, turnovers stymied efforts by Tulane to claw back into the contest. A Green Wave turnover-on-downs near midfield paved the way for Carneiro to hit a 48-yard field goal. Back-to-back fumbles by Jake Retzlaff set up two Ole Miss scores — a three-yard touchdown by Logan Diggs on a direct snap and an eight-yard rushing score by Chambliss, putting Ole Miss up 41-3 in the fourth quarter. Tulane scored a trash-time touchdown with four minutes left in regulation.
For Tulane, Retzlaff was effective, tossing for 306 yards, 125 of which were accounted for by wideout Shazz Preston, and moving the Green Wave into Ole Miss territory more often than not. But the giveaways created a hill that was too big to climb. The Green Wave’s season comes to an end as head coach Jon Sumrall ventures off to a new frontier at Florida. Former Southern Miss head coach Will Hall will lead Tulane next season.
Next up for Ole Miss
Ole Miss will travel to New Orleans to face Georgia in a New Year’s Day revenge matchup in the Sugar Bowl, which serves as a quarterfinal game. The two most recently squared off on Oct. 18, with the Bulldogs besting the Rebels 43-35 in Athens.