- Ex-Division II star suddenly a part of Ole Miss plan. Mississippi State eyes 4-0 start. Southern Miss wins back-to-back.
As week four of the college football season arrives, things have gone as well as possible for Mississippi’s Big 3.
The only loss to date has been the result of Mississippi-on-Mississippi violence, as Mississippi State knocked off Southern Miss 34-17 on Opening Day.
The Bulldogs’ win over then-No. 12 Arizona State last week left them on track to be 4-0 going into their September 27 home game against Tennessee.
That goal remains intact following a 63-0 win over Alcorn State over the weekend.
Ole Miss won a shootout against Arkansas, 41-35, in spite of starting a Division II transfer quarterback who got hurt during the game.
Southern Miss has now won two-straight under new coach Charles Huff after knocking off Sun Belt Conference foe Appalachian State 38-22 in Hattiesburg Saturday night.
Ole Miss
Trinidad Chambliss emerged from Lane Kiffin’s quarterback subterfuge with a monster performance and an SEC win in his first major college start.
His second one could very well come this week.
Kiffin said starting quarterback Austin Simmons, who injured an ankle in last week’s win at Kentucky, “fought through” the injury in an effort to be ready for Arkansas.
Simmons was listed as “probable” last Wednesday on the initial SEC injury report then was not listed the rest of the week.
He likely wouldn’t have played at all had Chambliss not suffered a cut on his hand in the second quarter. Simmons entered and capped a 75-yard touchdown drive with a throw to Harrison Wallace but also re-injured his ankle along the way.
Chambliss was 21-for-29 passing for 353 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for 62 yards and two more scores.
Now there’s game video of Chambliss to help Tulane and coach Jon Sumrall, the former Ole Miss assistant, prepare this week.
A high-scoring Arkansas game was finally decided by the lone big play produced by the Ole Miss defense.
Taylen Green was the best quarterback the Rebels have faced this season, and they didn’t slow him down much.
Green hurt the Rebels so much on the run that they took a very controlled rush approach when he dropped to pass.
He finished with 305 yards passing, 8.5 yards per rush and no turnovers.
This Ole Miss defense, after heavy losses from last year’s stellar group, isn’t making enough plays behind the line or forcing enough turnovers.
Finally, an Ole Miss takeaway came at the most opportune time when linebacker T.J. Dottery knocked the ball loose from Arkansas running back Jalen Brown after a short gain to the Ole Miss 24 with 1:52 left on the clock and the Razorbacks driving to take the lead.
Tulane opened with a convincing win over Northwestern (23-3) and has followed with closer wins over South Alabama (33-31) and Duke (34-27).
Quarterback Jake Retzlaff, like Green, has been an effective runner and passer.
Sumrall was 23-4 at Troy before taking the Tulane job last year and leading the Green Wave to a third-straight appearance in the American Athletic Conference championship game.
Tulane is giving up 4.4 rushing yards per attempt which could be an opportunity for Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy who, after a fast start to the season, had just 2.6 yards per carry against Arkansas.
Mississippi State
The Bulldogs suffered no letdown after a big, emotional win in Week 2.
They did what needed to be done against a SWAC opponent, pouncing right out of the gate with 28 points in the first quarter.
They controlled the game and executed throughout.
One of the more interesting plays was a deep ball from freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor, a 42-yarder to Brenen Thompson.
It was the first touchdown pass for Taylor, the coveted 6-foot-4, 230-pound recruit from Noxubee County.
If the Bulldogs continue their strong early-season play with a win over Northern Illinois this week – a frightening if in light of last year’s 41-17 loss to another MAC opponent, Toledo – the anticipation for the following week against a ranked Tennessee team would be too hot to handle.
Northern Illinois will be arriving after two weeks of preparation for State.
The Huskies were off Saturday after opening the season with a 19-17 win over Holy Cross and a 20-9 loss at Maryland.
The Huskies are in their seventh season under coach Thomas Hammock.
Last September they won 16-14 at Notre Dame, the first win by a MAC school against a top-five team. The Huskies went on to finish 8-5 with a 28-20 two-overtime win against Fresno State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
They’ve got a pair of veteran edge rushers in Roy Williams and Jalonnie Williams. They are related only by productivity.
Roy was a second-team all-MAC pick last year with 6 ½ sacks.
Northern Illinois rushed for just 86 yards at Maryland.
Tennessee is at home against UAB after losing to Georgia in Knoxville 44-41 in overtime.
Southern Miss
Beating Appalachian State was a statement win for Huff. FBS teams are supposed to win against SWAC teams, and the Golden Eagles did that the week before, 38-20, against Jackson State.
Now Southern Miss has toppled a consistent winning Sun Belt program in Appalachian State.
The Golden Eagles scored 24-straight points after a 7-0 deficit led by quarterback Braylon Braxton who went 22-for-30 for 279 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Appalachian State had 470 total yards.
Now Southern Miss travels to Louisiana Tech, currently of Conference USA, to face a future Sun Belt opponent.
Tech is 2-1 with a 23-7 loss at LSU between wins over Southeastern Louisiana (24-0) and New Mexico State (49-14).
A number of LSU fans were disappointed with the Tigers’ offense after it generated 365 yards and 4.9 yards per play against Tech.
Tech rushed for 353 yards and three touchdowns against New Mexico State.
Quarterback Blake Baker had 103 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He was just 8-for-16 passing.
Baker is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound third-year sophomore from Cypress, Texas who also drew interest from Houston Christian and Texas A&M Commerce.
Preseason predictions had Tech hovering around 6-7 wins and a low-level bowl appearance.
Southern Miss leads the series 36-17.
The teams last played in 2021, which was a 35-19 Golden Eagles win in Ruston.
Parrish Alford
