Ole Miss has turned things around since its Florida loss threatened its early momentum. In Week 7, the Rebels dismantled Missouri in a 31-3 win. More imprresively, the defense held the Tigers to just 39 rushing yards, a complete reversal of what plagued the Rebels against the Gators. With quarterback Austin Simmons’ return adding drama to the Missouri matchup, the Rebels’ response gave ESPN’s Rece Davis a reason to shift the focus back to their performance on the field.
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Speaking on the ESPN College GameDay Podcast, host Rece Davis and analysts Dan Wetzel and Max Olson discussed Ole Miss’ response after its loss to Florida.
“That was an impressive, dominant performance, one of the highlight games of the day because of the Austin Simmons return and then because of all the drama surrounding it, Ole Miss just evaporated all of the drama out of that and dominated the game against Missouri,” Rece Davis said.
“And now Ole Miss is sort of quietly sitting there with one little stumble on the résumé, and this guy, he’s [Trinidad Chambliss] probably as good as anybody in the country behind the center, and some would say he’s the best.”
The Missouri matchup offered a clear example of how Ole Miss responded after its defeat to Florida. The Rebels fell behind 3–0 early but took control before halftime, building a 21–3 lead. They added 10 more points in the fourth quarter to complete a 31–3 victory, holding Missouri scoreless after its opening field goal.
One of the biggest differences came in the rushing game. Missouri running back Jamal Roberts, who had recorded consecutive 200-yard rushing performances in his previous games, managed only 39 yards on 20 carries against Ole Miss. That amounted to an average of just 1.95 yards per attempt, preventing the Tigers from establishing a consistent ground attack.
Missouri finished with 39 rushing yards on 26 team attempts, while Ole Miss recorded 257 rushing yards. Running back Kewan Lacy led the Rebels with 122 yards on 16 carries, and Makhi Frazier added 101 yards on 15 attempts. With both backs surpassing 100 yards, Ole Miss had another way to control the game and keep pressure off its defense.
The Rebels also finished with 498 total yards and 27 first downs, compared with Missouri’s 378 total yards and 17 first downs. Those numbers showed that the result was not simply about limiting Roberts; Ole Miss also generated consistent offense throughout the matchup.
Simmons’ return to face his former team was another major part of the game’s storyline. The Missouri quarterback completed 25 of 44 passes for 339 yards, but he threw an interception as the Tigers attempted to make something happen late in the fourth quarter.
Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz acknowledged the disappointment after the loss.
“I’m not going to wallow in this. The season is not over,” Drinkwitz said. “I’m going to be disappointed because we had an opportunity and we didn’t get it done.”
The Missouri win did not erase Ole Miss’ loss to Florida, but it gave the Rebels another ranked win to strengthen their resume. During the podcast discussion, the panel considered whether the Florida defeat might have been an isolated poor showing rather than a reflection of the team’s overall ability.
More importantly, with poor QB play shown by multiple top teams in the SEC, Pete Golding currently has a reliable weapon in Trinidad Chambliss, who can just take over a game if needed. On other days, he’d threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns while keeping the offensive balance intact.
In Week 8, Ole Miss has a tough game against a damaged Texas, which is coming off back-to-back losses and an urgency to save its season with a win.