ATHENS - Georgia football coach Kirby Smart was asked Monday how best to defend Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss.

“How long do you have?” Smart asked. “We could talk for an hour about it.”

That still wouldn’t cover the amount of ground Chambliss can during a game from the pocket alone. Georgia saw that up close twice a year ago - the second time they didn’t survive and went home after Ole Miss’ Chambliss-led 4th quarter comeback in the Sugar Bowl.

Georgia will have its paws full Saturday night when the Dawgs and Rebels take the field to face one another for the third time in a matter of 17 games. Chambliss isn’t on the same pace as he was a season ago, but he’s still fully dangerous.

“He’s elite,” one SEC assistant told Dawg Post of Chambliss. The assistant was granted anonymity in order to speak freely about the Ole Miss signal caller. “He makes throws that NFL quarterbacks make. He’s got the confidence to do things other quarterbacks in can’t do in college. I’m just glad we don’t have to play him in the regular season.”

I watched each snap of Chambliss’ 2026 season so far, and he’s still as electric as he was a season ago, but a few things have changed - and it is noticeable that they have. What you can also tell is that Chambliss is still some combination of magician or alien in pads.

“The ‘wow' plays are what you guys love and what America loves. He had some ‘wow’ plays against us last year in both games, but especially the second,” Kirby Smart said Monday. “It's the down-in, down-out decision making that he's really elite at. The accuracy that he's elite at; the release; the decision; his pinpointing. He has an anticipation of windows that's probably unmatched.”

THE EYES OF TEXAS

The toughest game Chambliss dealt with this season was the Rebels’ narrow loss at Texas. Former UGA co-Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp’s defense held the Rebels to only 20 points on offense.

Ole Miss managed only 148 yards on offense in the first half of the game. Chambliss threw two of his three interceptions (one was on the first play of the game in the end zone, so that’s hard to pin on him) in the first half.

Texas significantly slowed the Ole Miss rush game in the first half, and the game looked all but over. Frankly, it was the first time all season that Chambliss looked human. Actually, he looked bad.

Chambliss was 6 for 16 for 63 yards with two interceptions - one of which was knocking on the door of the Texas end zone. Texas LB Rasheem Biles intercepted Chambliss at the Texas two-yard line with 1:41 to play in the half.

One key in that 30 minutes of football? Ole Miss star running back Kewan Lacy could not get going. His first three carries of the game were all stuffed. In the first half Lacy didn’t have a run for longer than six yards. Nine of Lacy’s 14 runs were three yards or fewer. He just didn’t matter, and that really hurt Ole Miss.

Ole Miss was totally outplayed in the first half of that game - getting trounced 24-3 going into the locker room. Then one play changed the game - an Arch Manning fumble that was returned for a touchdown on the first drive of the second half was all that Ole Miss needed to get going.

Any little spark is the excuse the Rebels use to deploy their fleet of X-wing fighters - playmakers that scatter around the line of scrimmage as Chambliss rolls through his progressions.

Chambliss and the Rebs ripped off a ten-play, 80-yard drive to get within a touchdown. On that drive Chambliss started getting comfortable. His quick-snap throws near the line of scrimmage started piling up.

Left and right. Right and left - Chambliss had no issue going side to side to attack the Horns. And it was working because Ole Miss has very, very good skill players (the X-wing fighters). Georgia’s defensive backs are going to have to come up and tackle well near the line of scrimmage. The way Ole Miss plays you have to worry about everything.

If they run on you - you’ve got problems.

And Ole Miss started effectively running in the second half (Texas did, too, and wound up winning the ground game 207 to 113), and that made things exceedingly more challenging for Texas. That combined with the Horns’ horrific offensive start to the second half (fumble for a touchdown, three-and-out, punt, punt, interception), gave Chambliss and company time and opportunity to come back to make the game tight.

And they did.

By the fourth quarter the game had gone from a blowout to tied (this is a phenomenon Ole Miss is particularly experienced at - both coming back in games, and allowing comebacks). Texas finally wrestled the lead back after an 80-yard touchdown drive. But Chambliss was back at it after using TE Caleb Odom as a target to position the Rebels for a long FG that was blocked by Texas. A few plays later Texas added a FG of their own to push the lead out to 34-24.

It turns out a ten-point deficit was a hill too hard to climb, and after some improbable onside kicks in favor of Ole Miss Chambliss’ final interception of the game was secured in the end zone. But Chambliss and Ole Miss weren’t put away (twice) in the game, and they kept firing all the bullets they had until they ran out. Texas survived - barley.

TURNING IT ON (AND HOLDING ON)

There’s no telling when Chambliss will flip the switch and start the Rebels rolling. Against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl it was in the fourth quarter. Ole Miss was nearly dead before a 20-point fourth quarter powered the Rebels to the biggest win that program has seen in decades.

In the season opener against Louisville in Nashville the Rebels managed only ten points in the first half. Ole Miss got its act together after halftime and ripped off four touchdowns in five drives to take a commanding 14-point lead that its defense immediately gave way in the final four minutes of the game.

The final drive of the game was a great example of what Chambliss can do when Smart talks about “decision making that he's really elite at.” On the first play of that drive Chambliss hit Deuce Alexander for 15 yards. After an incomplete pass Chambliss ran four yards and out of bounds to save what turned out to be critical timeouts. That set up a 3rd and 6 from the Ole Miss 44-yard line. Chambliss hit TE Caleb Odom for 18 yards.

Odom is a very dangerous weapon for Ole Miss.

Chambliss then spiked the ball before adding a three-yard run. Ole Miss burned a timeout. A four-yard Makhi Frazier run to the Louisville 31 set up a Lucas Carneiro 48-yard attempt, and he knocked it in for the win.

Not only did Chambliss drive the field to win the game - he pretty much did the right thing each down.

Against LSU, in an emotionally-charged night in Oxford, Chambliss and the Rebels scored on four drives in a row in the first half to build a 24-7 lead. Then the defense gave it away (again).

But on the game-winning 13-play drive, Chambliss was back at his usually exceptional play. Short passes; intermediate passes; then short passes again. Chambliss was running Ole Miss’ offense to position the Rebels to win the game.

On 2nd and 10 from the 14-yard line with about six minutes to play, Chambliss took off to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Ole Miss added a two-point conversion (for fun?). After a 14-play drive that put LSU within reach of tying the game, LSU QB Sam Leavitt’s pass was picked off by Jaylon Braxton, and the party ensued.

Against the Florida, Ole Miss got jumped by the Gators and managed only two field goals in the first half. Florida was only up 17-6 at the half. Ole Miss cut the UF lead to 17-14 after a Rebel touchdown coming out of the half.

But the Gators controlled the clock - UF, 36 mins; OM, 23 mins - and ran the ball down the Rebels’ throat. Florida ran for 302 yards rushing - powering Florida to a 52-28 beatdown. Still, even in the Florida game - a slow-rolling blowout - Chambliss and the Rebels ripped off scores in five of seven drives during the middle of the game. The problem was Florida scored on all but three drives all game. That was too much to overcome.

Ole Miss was only up two midway through the third quarter against Auburn before Chambliss and company got rolling - scoring touchdowns on four drives in a row to close Auburn out. Chambliss used his legs (65 yards rushing on seven carries with a touchdown) to make things happen when he had to against Auburn.

THE FINAL VERDICT

Chambliss can’t be expected to score each time Ole Miss gets the ball. With a defense that had given away big, consequential leads more than once this season, Ole Miss’ offense has to feel the pressure of scoring a lot.

Perhaps that’s one reason Chambliss’ interceptions are up this season. He already has eight interceptions this season in eight games; he had three all of last season. In addition, the likely absence of star running back Kewan Lacy complicates things for Ole Miss, and makes the math a little easier for defenders.

Win or lose you should expect to see some magic Saturday night from Chambliss. Yes, he’s that good.