OXFORD – Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin seems optimistic he will have his starting quarterback this weekend.
Kiffin told reporters Monday he “would anticipate” redshirt sophomore Austin Simmons, who started the first two games of the season for No. 13 Ole Miss but was injured in each of the last two, will start this weekend against undefeated Tulane.
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Senior Trinidad Chambliss, a transfer from Division II Ferris State, started the Rebels’ (3-0, 2-0 SEC) 41-35 win over Arkansas. He had 415 total yards of offense and three total touchdowns in his first start at the FBS level. Chambliss led Ferris State to the Division II national title last season.
Ole Miss hosts Tulane on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. The Rebels have won the last 13 meetings with the Green Wave.
“(Simmons is) doing good,” Kiffin said Monday. “I would anticipate Austin being fine to play and being our starting quarterback.”
Simmons was injured in a road win at Kentucky and was replaced by Chambliss for a drive before coming back out to take the last kneel-down. Simmons was not listed on the final three SEC availability reports last week and saw action when Chambliss injured his hand, throwing a 4-yard touchdown to senior Harrison Wallace III in the second quarter against the Razorbacks.
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Following the win, Kiffin said the team went with Chambliss as the starter partially because of the desire to run the quarterback against Arkansas and not wanting to further injure Simmons. Simmons reaggravated his ankle injury in his spot action, though, and did not see any more time.
Chambliss completed 21 of 29 passes for 353 yards and a touchdown and ran for 62 yards and two scores.
“If we had to go to somebody (in the second half), I wasn’t (going to Simmons) based off of how I walked out of the locker room at halftime with him, and he just looked like he was really struggling,” Kiffin said during a call with reporters Sunday night. “And so, I don’t think I would have put him in.”
The Rebels and Green Wave (3-0) last played in 2023 in New Orleans. Ole Miss trailed by a touchdown at halftime but outscored Tulane 27-3 in the second half, which included 20 points in the fourth quarter alone. Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall was the coach at Troy when the Rebels and Trojans played in the 2022 season opener, a 28-10 Ole Miss victory. Sumrall was Ole Miss’ linebackers coach in 2018.
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Tulane defeated Duke 34-27 last weekend and also has a victory over Northwestern. The Green Wave had the No. 24 scoring defense in college football last season at 20.6 points allowed per game and are currently allowing 20.3. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff, previously the starter at BYU, threw for 245 yards and ran for 111 yards and four touchdowns against the Blue Devils. He joined the team in the summer.
“They play good defense and now, with this quarterback, much different than what – we prepare in the offseason after spring ball for the coming opponents, so very rare that outside of a portal window you can get a quarterback. So, that’s changed a lot with them,” Kiffin said. “He looks like one of the best players in America. And they have really good scheme and they play really hard defense, same defensive structure and coaching then when we played Troy here.
“ … This is one of the better coached teams in the whole country.”
Ole Miss-LSU time announced
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The Rebels and Tigers will kick off their Sept. 27 matchup at 2:30 p.m. on ABC. The teams have split their last four meetings.
Pounds named SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week
Ole Miss senior Diego Pounds was named the SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week following the Rebels’ 41-35 win over Arkansas.
