Through five games, there hasn’t been much to question about the Ole Miss offense. 

The Rebels are averaging 38.8 points per game and have scored 24 total touchdowns through the first six weeks of the season. In Saturday’s 35-point road win at Vanderbilt, the Rebels’ offense put together seven scoring drives with six ending in touchdowns. 

Ole Miss scored six touchdowns in the first half alone, one coming courtesy of a fumble recovery for a touchdown, going into the locker room with the game well out of reach and a 42-3 lead. 

However, the one question about the Rebels’ offense is their ability to consistently pose a threat for all four quarters. 

In the second half against Vanderbilt it was almost as if Ole Miss took its foot off the gas or lost some focus on offense. Ole Miss turned the ball over, punted twice and got out-scored 14-10 in the final two quarters.         

Second Half Shortcomings

Despite totaling over 400 yards, 50 points and converting nearly 50 percent on third down, Trinidad Chambliss was more focused on the Rebels’ shortcomings following the game.     

“Defense showed up and they played great. Offensively, I feel like we played good in the first half. Second half, (we) struggled again,” Chambliss said of his offense on Saturday. “I feel like we were just sluggish and just kind of in a lull a little bit and we gotta fix that because that’s not the standard. We gotta finish the game and play all four quarters. But it was good that our defense showed up and we had an all-around game today.”

Is it fair to still deem the outing in Nashville as the Rebels’ most complete offensive performance considering the well-balanced attack on the ground and air? 

“You could say that, but honestly I feel like we’re far from that,” Chambliss explained. “I feel like this team has a lot more potential and a lot more that they could do in a whole game. We could probably play a better, complete game, honestly. It’s still kind of earlier in the season, so just still hoping for that and we’re going to keep working.” 

As for Chambliss, his day was done late in the third quarter and finished with 213 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and an interception.   

“I would say I did solid for the first half. Second half just came out — wasn’t on top of my game, but I have to finish off and play all four quarters,” Chambliss reiterated. “It doesn’t matter if we’re up 42-10 at half. Still play the whole four quarters and finish out the game. There’s a lot of room for improvement for me just based off accuracy with ball location then also just like reads and stuff and staying involved and staying super locked in throughout the game. It doesn’t matter what the score is.”

With the win against the Commodores, Ole Miss improved to 4-1 (2-1 SEC) on the year, and now has to turn the page quickly to a top-15 Missouri squad that has some offensive firepower itself.  

Not only are the Tigers headed to Oxford seeking their sixth win of the year, but it will also mark a homecoming for former Ole Miss starters Austin Simmons, Cayden Lee and Chris Graves Jr. 

“It’s about to be fun. Seeing Cayden and Austin over there — seeing the success they have is really cool to see,” Chambliss told reporters. “But yeah, it’s going to be fun to play them and it’s going to be weird to see them in different colors. Missouri’s a really good team. They beat Florida, we ended up losing to Florida, and they got a good win against A&M today, so just excited for that.”   

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