Trinidad Chambliss Ditched Growing Pressure to ‘Cut it Loose’ Against Auburn

OXFORD, Miss. — Trinidad Chambliss wasn’t himself through much of the month of October for Ole Miss. Yet that version of Chambliss is still a quarterback most teams in the country would sign up for.

Entering Week 9, Chambliss was coming off a performance in which he completed just 48 percent of his passes while tossing three interceptions during what was the Rebels’ second loss of the season at Texas.

In Saturday’s, 45-15, win over Auburn, Chambliss bounced back. Ole Miss’ star quarterback played like one, throwing for 263 yards and two touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his pass attempts.

Going into last week, coming off of two games in which Chambliss didn’t quite look like himself, Pete Golding made sure to send a clear message to his seemingly pressing quarterback.

Cut it Loose

Oct 31, 2026; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) runs the ball for a first down during the third quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“My thing is I just wanted him to cut it loose,” Golding explained following Saturday’s win. “Playing that position, you got to be very efficient and you can’t press and you got to take what they give you. Some games you might not be able to do that. They’re spying you and they got a really good plan for you and things like that. So it’s like, ‘look, you ain’t got to press. Us winning or losing is not strictly based on you. This is all of us and it’s a team game, so take what they give you.’”

But it wasn’t what Chambliss did through the air that stood out. It was what he did on the ground to return to a more consistent dual-threat approach.

The Rebels’ second-year starter under center rushed for a season-high (65 yards) and an additional touchdown on seven carries (9.3 YPC).

“I thought there was a couple more designed (runs) for him obviously, which helps as well. I think anytime he’s a dual threat it creates a lot of problems for defense. When we start catching a couple more of those balls on the perimeter, it creates a lot of problems. I think he’s watched kind of a highlight reel of last year of him doing some things and things like that. But there were still a couple that he extended, kept his eyes downfield and threw the one to Deuce (Alexander). He could have ran it, but he threw a great ball. So he’s doing both, which is how I see it. He’s developing as a quarterback, but also doing whatever we need to do to win the football game, and I did think he took a step in that direction.”

Chambliss was unguarded when breaking down what he felt led to his previous struggles through the month of October.

“I feel like I played better. There’s always room for improvement. The main thing that I was going into for this game is — ‘Don’t try to press. Go out there and cut it loose and just be confident in yourself and have fun.’ I feel like I got too in my head the past couple weeks,” Chambliss said. “Even Vandy, Missouri and then obviously at Texas. Just having those games where I was kind of off and some uncharacteristic things I would say.

I think there’s just a lot on my mind — me kind of looking past into the future. There’s a lot of expectations about me and stuff and all that, so just getting back to my why. Why I want to do this and what I do it for and just enjoying football. Because two years ago I was at Ferris (State) playing in front of like 1,000 people so just kind of getting back in that mindset of just ‘Go out there have fun, enjoy this man. You’re going to miss it down the road.’ That was my mindset today.”

It’s been challenging for Chambliss to compartmentalize thoughts about pressure to deliver for Ole Miss this season, his NFL future and the national conversation surrounding the Heisman Trophy.

What else helps Chambliss ‘cut it loose’ mentally and physically?

“I feel like it depends on how your mental is and who you surround yourself with,” Chambliss explained. “Kind of just going back to (clearing) the clutter in your mind because I feel like there was a lot of fog in my mind. I was thinking about a lot and just talking to my family, praying a lot, talking to God, talking to Coach Judge and them just (saying) ‘Hey, don’t worry about the next level or anything out there or any Heisman Trophy (talks). Any of that stuff, just focus on having fun. Remember your why and just go out there and have fun and just cut loose.’ Like I said, there’s going to be a day where I’m going to miss putting on that Ole Miss uniform and playing in front of the Vaught.”

Up next for Chambliss and the Rebels will be a familiar Georgia team that helped solidify his rise to stardom.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google