Chambliss passes for 3 scores, Lacy rushes for 3 TDs as No. 7 Mississippi beats The Citadel 49-0

Kewan Lacy rushed 49 yards on 11 carries and scored on runs of 2, 15 and 3 yards for Mississippi, which scored touchdowns on six of its first seven possessions. Lacy tied the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 16.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin challenged his stars, specifically Chambliss, to play like an elite team.

“Trinidad, we challenged him to play really efficient, not to try and go for big plays but to have a really good day, not stat-wise but efficiency, which shows up in stats,” Kiffin said.

Now the Rebels, ranked No. 6 by the College Football Playoff committee, will focus on two remaining SEC games, the first at home against a Florida team with an interim head coach but one that dealt the Rebels a third loss last year effectively ending their playoff hopes.

There’s also the drama of Kiffin’s name being mentioned prominently amid reported candidates to replace fired Gators coach Billy Napier.

“I’m excited to play Florida. They have athletes over there. I know their coach got fired, but you saw they put up a good fight against Georgia. They’ve got fight in their team. We can’t get too ahead of ourselves. We have to play our game, and I think we’ll be OK,” Chambliss said.

The Citadel (4-6), an FCS-level team, kept the ball on the ground, a strategy that yielded few results at 2.0 yards per attempt. The Bulldogs worked the clock from the outset, often snapping the ball with 5 seconds or less on the 40-second clock.

Quarterback Cobey Thompkins, a freshman, did not attempt a pass until the middle of the second quarter, a completion for 16 yards. He completed three of six attempts for 53 yards.

The Bulldogs threatened in the early minutes of the fourth when lineman Jeremiah Holmes batted a pass by Mississippi backup quarterback Austin Simmons. It was picked off by linebacker Mikey Rosa and returned to the Ole Miss 17. Three plays later they missed their second field goal attempt of the game, this one from 32 yards.

The Rebels covered 87 yards in 10 plays with the game’s opening kick, mostly working the sidelines with precision passing from Chambliss.

“These games don’t always go like this, especially later in the year. Things happen where teams hang around, and nobody feels good afterward. We talked about that all week,” Kiffin said.

The takeaway

The Rebels did not leave the game injury-free, as hoped. Tight end Dae-Quan Wright was hurt early in the first quarter and did not return, a precautionary move, Kiffin said.

The Citadel has lost three out of four games for the second time this season.

Up next

Mississippi: Hosts Florida on Saturday.

The Citadel: Hosts Wofford on Saturday.

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