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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Football vs. Arkansas: Fresh off the Field
9/14/2025 | Football
Presented by Kroger
Arkansas answered nearly every Rebel score and knocked on the door of a comeback all night long. On the Razorbacks' final drive, it looked like they might pull it off, but a key defensive play by Ole Miss sealed the victory.
Hear what Lane Kiffin, TJ Dottery, Trinidad Chambliss and Harrison Wallace III had to say after moving to 2-0 in SEC play.
Our guys finished the game really well," Kiffin said. "You know, it wasn't perfect, it wasn't pretty a lot of the time defensively, but on the 72nd defensive play, we made the first turnover. Great play by TJ to get it out. We were saying on the headset to bend, don't break, we've got to make a turnover. Trinidad played extremely well. Austin came in and made a huge touchdown throw. Really proud of Austin for going in there and making a big play in that situation. Trinidad's day didn't surprise me. He has the 'it.' That's why we brought him here. And he took care of the ball. He did a great job of that. We needed all of that today.
Defense Wins
Arkansas scored touchdowns on four straight drives in a wild first half of action, but Ole Miss made some key halftime adjustments to slow down the Razorback attack, allowing the Rebels to take a two-score lead into the final 5:00 of game time.
Nothing was said other than kind of what we need to do, but I think the team needed to come together and stand together," Dottery said. "The offense continued to just believe in the defense that we were going to go out there and get some stops and the defense just not going against each other and standing together when we went out there. That was huge.
The defense came up with two stops in a scoreless third quarter for the Hogs, but Arkansas had a chance late to steal the victory, driving in the waning minutes and trailing by just six. Finally, the bent-but-not-broken Rebel defense snapped back on the Razorbacks when Dottery jarred loose a fumble and Wydett Williams Jr. recovered to seal the win.
Man, we did it. That was the turnover we were looking for all day on defense," Dottery said. "That has been a big emphasis this week to just try and take the ball. We practiced that exact position plenty of times this week, so it was kind of just taking it back to the drill.
Gold All in My Start
The 65,068 fans who saw quarterback Trinidad Chambliss' first start at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium last night were more than 50,438 who watched him play over his entire junior season at Ferris State. But the added eyes didn't affect Chambliss as he led Ole Miss to a 2-0 record in SEC play.
Yes, I was a little nervous," Chambliss said. "I'd be lying to you if I told you I wasn't. But you know what, God's got me. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was with me the whole time, but yes, I was.
Chambliss was spectacular with Austin Simmons dealing with an ankle injury. The senior finished 21-for-29 with 415 total yards (353 passing, 62 rushing) and three total touchdowns. Chambliss himself fought through a cut on his hand sustained in-game, which thrust Simmons back into action, and Simmons contributed a key touchdown pass despite being hobbled. The win showed that Ole Miss has two tough, winning options at the position.
Throughout the whole week, I was given a lot more reps. Me and Austin yesterday were splitting reps with the ones and I was just giving up a prayer for whatever role I was going to have today, whether it was a limited amount of time or have a lot of time out there," Chambliss said. "It's a dream come true. You dream of moments like this. Coming from a DII, I'm very grateful and appreciative for the opportunity that arose today. I'm just going to soak it all in and interact with all the fans because that was me when I was little.
Trey Big Performances
The Ole Miss offense didn't miss a beat with Chambliss behind center, and that includes star receiver Harrison Wallace III. Wallace remained the Rebels' go-to option in the passing attack, hauling in six receptions for 92 yards and one touchdown, just eight yards shy of a third straight 100-yard game.
We took our preparation really seriously," Wallace said. "I feel like Trinidad just didn't miss a beat. He just did what everyone knew he was going to do.
Wallace posted 130 in his Rebel debut against Georgia State and 117 in his SEC debut last week. After adding 92 on Saturday against Arkansas, he's No. 3 in the nation with 339 receiving yards through three games. He also boasts the highest yard-per-catch average (22.6) of any player in the nation with 15 or more receptions. He's confident the offense can keep humming with either Simmons or Chambliss leading the way.
I wouldn't really say we operate it really differently because both quarterbacks can run and both have great arm talent," Wallace said. "I'd just say we stuck with the playcalling for today.
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