One Surprising Stat Says Ole Miss May Be Ready to Surprise the SEC

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For being one of college football’s most lethal passers last season, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has one statistic that could prove the Rebels are ready to shock the world and win the SEC.
It’s not the fact that he went from a Division II national champion to leading the Rebels to within a few plays of facing Indiana for a national championship. It’s not even the fact that Pro Football Focus ranked him a top-five deep-ball passer entering the upcoming season.
It’s the fact that in his 445 pass attempts last season, Chambliss only threw three interceptions. That is an interception every 148.33 attempts, giving him a .7 interception percentage compared to his 4.9 touchdown percentage.
Efficient and Explosive

Oftentimes, quarterbacks being aggressive and taking those deep-ball chances sacrifice ball security. But that wasn’t the case with Chambliss last season. He was able to be explosive and yet remain efficient.
If you were to ask all 16 SEC head coaches what one of the easiest ways to lose games is, almost all of them would mention turnovers. It not only represents a missed opportunity for that offense, but it’s also a gift for the opposing team.
Ole Miss experienced the benefit of Chambliss’s non-reckless ways amidst their playoff run. After throwing his third and final interception of the season against Florida, Chambliss ended his year going four consecutive games without turning the ball over.
Three of those games were against playoff competition. He totaled 112 pass attempts against Tulane, Georgia, and Miami, and completed 67.9 percent of those without a single interception.
Not having to worry about your quarterback suffering from turnovers is a huge advantage for an Ole Miss offense that is undergoing some change. New offensive coordinator John David Baker is bringing his one voice to the offensive meeting room, while Chambliss is working on jelling with a lot of new wide receivers.
His point guard mentality will allow Ole Miss to spread the ball around and get their best playmakers involved. However, at the same time, Chambliss avoiding turnovers may be an X-factor that could give them the edge as they go through the grind of a nine-game conference schedule.
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Harrison Reno is a contributing writer for multiple On SI websites covering SEC Football. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He has previously covered multiple NFL teams as a contributing writer for On SI and other networks.
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