Oxford, Miss.– trinidad chamblis Ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, and No. 6 ole miss Coaches appear unaffected by Lane Kiffin’s defection and beat No. 11 tulane 41-10 Saturday in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
scoring runs up to 20 yards kevan lacy And a 4-yard run by Chambliss gave Ole Miss (12-1) a 14-0 lead before eight minutes passed in the coaching debut of Pete Golding, who was promoted from defensive coordinator on November 30 after Kiffin left for LSU.
Next up for Golding and Ole Miss: the CFP quarterfinals against No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
Tulane (11-3) and the quarterback jake retzlaff Turned the ball over effectively at times, but the Rebels – who had defeated the Green Wave 45–10 on September 20 – remained comfortably ahead throughout. cornerback jaylon braxton There was an early interception, and the Rebels defense had several fumble recoveries and fourth-down stops.
Although Kiffin had asked to keep coaching Ole Miss during the playoffs, even working for its Southeastern Conference rival, Rebels athletic director Keith Carter did not allow it. So, the Rebels entered the most important game ever played at Vought–Hemingway Stadium with a new coach – not to mention an unprecedented level of staff and roster uncertainty for a team competing for a national title.
At Famous Grove, Mississippi, the artwork surrounding the tailgate tent depicts Kiffin in a negative light, showing him on the Christmas “naughty” list, with Goulding in the “good” column.
When Golding came on the field during the warm-up, the crowd started shouting loudly. As former Ole Miss QB and two-time Super Bowl winner with the New York Giants Eli Manning welcomed the new Rebels coach on the sideline, fans continued to cheer.
On the opposite sideline was Tulane coach John Sumrall, who was allowed to continue coaching the Green Wave after being hired by Florida. His hopes of returning to Tulane’s home city of New Orleans to prepare for the Sugar Bowl were dashed, and he would be packing for Gainesville, Florida to join the Gators.
Chambliss, who left the game briefly in the first half after taking a big hit during an 11-yard scramble, finished with 282 yards passing. Lacey ran for 87 yards before leaving the locker room with a left shoulder injury in the fourth quarter. D’jaun Stribling Caught five passes for 79 yards, including a 13-yard TD.
lsu transfer logan diggs He added a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for the Rebels, who finished with 497 yards of total offense, including four plays of 25 yards or more.
Retzlaff finished with 306 yards passing and a TD for Tulane, whose loss dropped non-power conference teams to 0-3 in CFP games (James Madison was playing at Oregon on Saturday night). Jamouri McClure Gained 84 yards on 15 carries.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
