Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss: 'Lot of People Doubted Us' When Lane Kiffin Left

When Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss to become the new head coach at SEC-rival LSU in November, the bulk of the college football world doubted the Rebels' ability to go on a run in the College Football Playoff.

After beating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in the quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff on Thursday night, that concern has been vanquished — and Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss kept the receipts.

"We're not really focused on destiny or anything like that. We just want to play ball fun and have fun. A lot of people did doubt us before the season, and they still doubted us when our coach left, so we just want to play ball and have fun, and I think that's showing right now," Chambliss said after the thrilling, 39-34 victory for Ole Miss.

The Rebels overcame a nine-point second-half deficit, proceeded to then blow a 10-point lead but squeak out a victory thanks to a 47-yard field goal from Lucas Carneiro with six seconds remaining, a safety on the ensuing kickoff and stopping a chaotic, lateral attempt by Georgia after the Bulldogs recovered the onside kick.

Chambliss finished the night with 362 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 145.7 passer rating, while completing 65.2% of his passes. In the first round, Chambliss threw for 282 yards and one touchdown, posted a 172.4 passer rating and completed 79.3% of his passes in the No. 6-seeded Rebels' 41-10 win over the Tulane Green Wave in Oxford.

Chambliss transferred to Ole Miss after four seasons at Division II-Ferris State (2021-24) and opened the 2025 season as the backup quarterback to Austin Simmons. Then, a Week 2 ankle injury put Simmons on the shelf and Chambliss in at quarterback. While Simmons has appeared in multiple