How It Happened: Ole Miss Football Earns Top-15 Win Over Oklahoma Sooners in Week 9

NORMAN, Okla. – The Sooners ripped off an early second half run to make it tight, but timely defensive stops and some key movements downfield by the Rebel offense helped keep No. 8 Ole Miss on top of No. 11 Oklahoma, 34-26, on Saturday.

The Rebels (7-1, 4-1 SEC) led 22-10 at the break, but Oklahoma (6-2, 2-2 SEC) scored 13 unanswered across the final five minutes of the third quarter to take a 26-25 lead.

But a crucial success by the Rebel offense – led by another strong day by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss – and a forced fumble on a punt by Trace Bruckler (who caught the previous touchdown) helped give Ole Miss the narrow edge for victory.

Ole Miss notched 436 yards of total offense and yielded 359, but the Rebels had five more third-down successes and dominated time of possession at 35:36 – crucially 8:17 in the fourth quarter to keep the Sooner offense off the field.

Ole Miss Rebels Football: Trinidad Chambliss. — Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

Offensive Leaders
QB Trinidad Chambliss surpassed 300 yards passing for fourth time in six starts, ending with 315 yards and one touchdown on a 24-of-44 passing line.

Chambliss also added 53 yards on the ground, giving him 368 yards of total offense – his fourth game with at least 350 this season. Chambliss is the first Ole Miss QB with at least 250 passing yards through their first six starts since Eli Manning in 2001, who did so six times.

Sophomore running back Kewan Lacy was superb yet again, finishing with 78 yards and two touchdowns on 27 rushing attempts alongside 17 receiving yards on two catches. Lacy is now tied for eighth in Ole Miss single-season history with 12 rushing scores this season.

The story of the day offensively, though, was the play of freshman wideout Winston Watkins, who was critical to Ole Miss' success – particularly late in the game. Watkins hauled in four catches for 111 yards, the first 100-yard game by a Rebel freshman since Elijah Moore had 129 against South Carolina in 2018.

Defensive Leaders
Edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen had a breakout performance, notching six tackles with 2.0 TFL and 1.5 sacks to lead an effective Ole Miss pass rush on Saturday.

Linebacker TJ Dottery and Kapena Gushiken were also tied for the team lead with six tackles apiece, while edge Suntarine Perkins (five tackles) and defensive end Kam Franklin (four tackles) each had 1.5 tackles for loss.

First Quarter
The weather and noise didn't affect Ole Miss, as the Rebels got on the board first after a methodical first drive that ended with a 45-yard field goal by Lucas Carneiro.

Chambliss started off 3-for-3 on the march into Sooner territory, but the Oklahoma defense clamped down before the Rebels could get into the redzone, stalling Ole Miss at eight plays and 47 yards.

Oklahoma slowly marched into Rebel territory in response, helped greatly by the first of several long connections between QB John Mateer and wideout Izaiah Sategna. However, a holding penalty on OU inside the Ole Miss redzone helped stall the eight-play, 51-yard drive that ended with a 42-yard field goal by Tate Sandell to tie the game 3-3.

Chambliss found a key connection of his own on Ole Miss' next drive, finding Harrison Wallace III for a 25-yard strike to enter Sooner territory and setup a 28-yard rushing score by Kewan Lacy – his first of the day – to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive to put the Rebels up 10-3 with 6:07 to go in the first.

The Rebel defense responded with its first three-and-out of the day, but the Oklahoma defense responded in kind by forcing Oscar Bird out for his first punt of the day, giving the Sooners the ball back with 43 seconds to go in the frame.

Second Quarter
There wasn't much time after the quarter break before Oklahoma struck back in a big way, with Mateer finding Sategna for a 76-yard scoring strike to knot the game 10-10 with 14:10 to go in the half.

OU's defense backed that up with a stop thanks to two sacks of Chambliss, but the ensuing Oscar Bird punt pinned the Sooners deep in their own territory – which Ole Miss would capitalize on.

After an illegal formation penalty put OU back to its own three-yard line, Princewill Umanmielen and Will Echoles broke through to drag down Tory Blaylock in the endzone for a safety – the first by Ole Miss since 2022 against Kentucky – to give the Rebels a 12-10 lead at 10:51 in the second.

Chambliss used his legs affectively to keep the Rebels on the field after the free kick, rushing for 31 of Ole Miss' 47 yards on the drive, but the Rebels stalled out on the OU five-yard line after two incomplete passes by Austin Simmons – leading to a 22-yard field goal by Carneiro to push the Rebels up 15-10 at the 7:33 mark.

Umanmielen continued to be a thorn in OU's offensive line, sacking Mateer on 4th-and-2 to force a turnover on downs with 4:32 to go.

Chambliss and the Rebel offense didn't let his efforts go to waste, connecting with Cayden Lee for 31 yards before Lacy punched in from two yards out for his second score of the day with 46 seconds to go in the half.

The Ole Miss defense responded with another three-and-out on OU's attempted two-minute drill, taking a 22-10 lead into the break.

Third Quarter
The beginning of the second half was the story of both defenses, with the Rebels forcing another OU three-and-out and the Sooners holding the Rebels on a fourth-down try that ended with an errant snap that went back 10 yards and gave Oklahoma the ball on Ole Miss' 15 yard-line.

But OU could not find the endzone despite the great starting position inside the redzone, with an opening-play penalty and another Umanmielen sack (alongside Jaden Yates) dooming the drive to a 42-yard field goal by Sandell to make it 22-13 Rebels with 11:16 on the clock.

The Rebels were resilient on the following drive, with freshman Winston Watkins bailing Ole Miss out on third down twice on receptions of 15 and 13 yards apiece.

A toughing the passer penalty on 3rd-and-10 also kept Ole Miss on the field, but Chambliss' scramble for eight yards on 3rd-and-11 from the OU 15 came up just short – forcing another Carneiro field goal. He converted from 29 yards out to push the Rebels up 25-13 with 5:57 on the clock.

OU quickly made it a game again, though, scoring 13 points within the next five minutes – both by running back Xavier Robinson. He took the first play of the ensuing drive 65 yards to the house, and after an Ole Miss three-and-out he found the endzone from nine yards out with 1:04 left in the frame to give Oklahoma a 26-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Ole Miss Rebels Football: Kewan Lacy. — Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

Fourth Quarter
Freshman Winston Watkins was crucial for the Rebels all day long, and his 40-yard catch to open the fourth quarter set Ole Miss up brilliantly.

Chambliss converted on a 3rd-and-8 with a 10-yard rush to the OU six-yard line, and Chambliss got Ole Miss on the board with an eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Trace Bruckler – his first score as a Rebel. An unsuccessful two-point try kept the Rebel lead at 31-26 with 11:33 to go.

From there, the game became the story of the Ole Miss defense clamping down on the Sooners. A Kam Franklin sack on second down and a Wydett Williams Jr. pass breakup on third forced an OU punt.

The Ole Miss offense went three-and-out on the following drive, but Bruckler knocked the ball loose from Sategna on the punt return, which was recovered by offensive lineman Ethan Fields for the crucial turnover.

Watkins exploded for another 43-yard reception on the first play following the fumble, putting the Rebels inside the redzone yet again on the 10-yard line. Oklahoma held the Rebels there, but a 37-yard field goal from Carneiro – his fourth of the day – critically put Ole Miss up by eight points, 34-26, with 4:09 to play.

OU was able to drive down to the Ole Miss 30 in response, but the Rebel defense held firm and forced the turnover on downs with 1:30 left in the game.

Oklahoma got the ball back with 1:05 to play and made it interesting late, marching all the way to the Ole Miss 45 – well within Hail Mary range – but the desperation heave fell short and was batted down by Wydett Williams Jr. as time expired.

Next Up
Ole Miss returns home to Oxford to host South Carolina (3-4, 1-4 SEC). Kickoff time and TV network is yet to be determined.

(Via Ole Miss Rebels Football.)

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