The season opener of Ole Miss football may have the lot of us hungover this Labor Day holiday as the game featured lead changes, ties and a last second 48-yard dagger to get Pete Golding’s first regular season win.
No. 9 Ole Miss (1-0) seemingly had the game in hand with about six minutes left up 38-24 after a Trinidad Chambliss rushing touchdown. The No. 24 Cardinals weren’t done yet though connecting on deep passes time and again and getting a crucial defensive stop tying up the game at 38 with just
over a minute to play.
Then it became Island Time as Chambliss guided the Rebels down to the 31-yard line to set up Lucas Carneiro’s 48-yard game winning field goal as time expired. Carneiro has quickly gained notoriety for clutch field goals with the Rebels dating back to his performances during the College Football Playoff, and now the legend only grows with yet another massive kick.
All this from a game that was only led by Ole Miss 10-6 at the half.
Here are the stat leaders for the game for the Rebels.
- Passing: Trinidad Chambliss – 21/36, 336 yards, 3 TD, 1 Int
- Rushing: Kewan Lacy – 17 carries for 61 yards, 1 TD
- Receiving: Deuce Alexander – 5 catches, 159 yards, 2 TD
- Tackles: Braylon Braxton and Keaton Thomas – 8 total tackles
- Tackles for Loss: Kam Franklin – 2 for -14 yards
- Sacks: Kam Franklin and Luke Ferelli – 1 sack
This was not what I think most Ole Miss fans expected for this game in totality. The offense clicked at times and sputtered at times too, but it still scored more than 40 points which should be enough to win a lot of games. The defense played its ass off in the first half and pulled a Jekyll/Hyde act in the second half.
I would not want to be in the defensive secondary in the film room this week. There were busted coverages throughout the game that have to be cleaned up and dealt with or SEC play is going to end up in a lot of high scoring games. Generally it looked like there was miscommunication or confusion from the safeties on coverage or assignments, but now the team has a week against Charlotte to get right.
The other big question will be the workload Lacy has in the next week with what has been reported unofficially as a deep bruise to his left leg. He had a few nice runs in this game, but it was clear something happened, he wasn’t available and he was getting treatment on the sideline. Ole Miss is going to need him for SEC play, so it would seem a no-brainer to give him recuperating time for the Sept. 19 game against LSU.
Ole Miss and Charlotte will kickoff on Saturday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. We’ll have more thoughts and analysis, but for now have a hell of a Labor Day and cheers!
