Ole Miss bounces Tulane in first CFP test without Lane Kiffin

OXFORD, Miss. – After leading No. 6 Ole Miss to a 41-10 rout of No. 11 Tulane in a CFP first-round game Saturday, new Rebels coach Pete Golding left the field with his name chanted by fans at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Golding, who won his first game as head coach in the Rebels’ first-ever CFP game, raised his fist in victory and threw his visor into the stands. Then he hugged Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter, who handed him the program after former coach Lane Kiffin left for LSU on Nov. 30.

Golding, 41, the Rebels’ defensive coordinator until Kiffin’s abrupt departure, passed his first test against the Green Wave, who qualified for the CFP as the highest-rated champion in a Group of Five conference.

Ole Miss won 12 games in a season for the first time in its history.

“To finally be the last voice, it hit me a little bit,” Golding said. “And then it’s even more exciting for the players, how they reacted. Some of these hugs will get to you a little bit, you know?”

The Rebels’ next test, against No. 3 Georgia in the CFP quarterfinals at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on New Year’s Day (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), promises to be much tougher.

The Bulldogs defeated the Rebels 43-35 in Athens, Georgia on October 18, handing them their only loss of the season.

The start against Tulane couldn’t have gone better. After taking the opening kickoff, the Rebels needed just three plays to drive 75 yards and score a touchdown in 59 seconds. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw a 30-yard pass to De’Zhaun Stribling and a 25-yard pass to tight end Dae’Quan Wright, then defender Kewan Lacy ran 20 yards up the middle for a touchdown to make it 7-0.

According to ESPN Research, this is the longest stretch of plays of 20 yards or more to start a game by an FBS team in the last 20 seasons. It was the fastest touchdown in a CFP game.

Tulane picked up three first downs and reached the Ole Miss 23 on its first possession. But cornerback Jaylon Braxton intercepted Jake Retzlaff’s pass to Tre Shackelford at the 10.

Ole Miss took over at its 40 after Braxton’s 15-yard return and facemask penalty against the Green Wave. Lacy gained 30 yards up the middle on first down and Chambliss threw a 26-yard pass to Deuce Alexander. Two plays later, Chambliss ran 4 yards into the end zone on a keeper designed to give the Rebels a 14-0 lead with 7:26 left in the first quarter.

The Rebels’ rout was on, as was Golding’s coming-out party in front of 68,251 fans, the largest crowd in Ole Miss history.

It was an all-too-familiar sight for Tulane, which lost 45-10 at Ole Miss on September 20.

“We looked a little slow on the perimeter, kind of like the first time we played this group,” Green Wave coach Jon Sumrall said. “They’re very talented. Hats off to you. They made plays. We didn’t make plays. Part of that was them, but part of it was us not doing a very good job. But yeah, the first couple of drives, it’s like you blink and look up and it’s 14-0.”

Golding said he wasn’t surprised his team was so focused after the circus that surrounded Kiffin’s departure at the end of the regular season.

“I don’t think it was very difficult at all because, I mean, it would be one thing, no disrespect, if it was the Pop-Tart Bowl or something,” Golding said. “It would have been really tough. It’s the playoffs. People are starting to wonder are they going to play or not going to play? What are we talking about?”

The Rebels’ only scare against the Green Wave came late in the first half when their two best players – Lacy and Chambliss – were injured on the same drive. Lacy, who rushed for 1,366 yards with a school-record 21 rushing touchdowns, injured his left shoulder on a 7-yard catch.

Three plays later, Chambliss rushed for an 11-yard run and was injured when he was tackled.

Backup quarterback Austin Simmons, who opened the season as the team’s starter before spraining his ankle, took over and finished the half.

Chambliss and Lacy returned to play in the second half, but Lacy returned to the locker room in the fourth quarter. Golding said Lacy, who rushed 15 times for 87 yards with one touchdown, had a bruised left shoulder.

“Yeah, he hit his shoulder,” Golding said. “Obviously he came back in the game and fought. We’ll talk about it here in the future, but he came back in the game and it’s a bruised shoulder.”

Chambliss completed 23 of 29 passes for 282 yards with a touchdown and rushed six times for 36 yards with two scores. He is the fifth player to throw a touchdown and score multiple scores in a CFP game.

The Rebels totaled 497 yards, including 151 on the ground.

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. returned to help coach the Rebels in the CFP, along with tight ends coach Joe Cox and wide receivers coach George McDonald. They will join Kiffin at LSU once the Rebels’ CFP run is over.

“I had no concerns about Charlie Weis calling this team, for this reason alone: ​​Charlie Weis can’t afford to not put on a hell of a game,” Golding said. “All he heard was ‘Lane Kiffin offense, Lane Kiffin offense, Lane Kiffin offense.’ So it’s just an opportunity for people to realize that Charlie Weis calls the offense, like he has all year, and he did a great job tonight. »

It wasn’t the ending Sumrall hoped for in his final game at Tulane. He was hired as Florida’s new coach on November 30 after Kiffin turned down the job.

“[I] I told them it doesn’t change how I feel about them,” Sumrall said. “I love this group. I love every guy on this team. This team will walk together forever as champions because we won a conference championship, okay? So even though tonight’s result sucks – I’m not happy about it and there’s nothing that makes me feel good – I still feel good about this football team because we hoisted a championship trophy two weeks ago. »

The loss was emotional for Sumrall as his father, George, died in his sleep Thursday evening after battling long health issues; he was 77 years old. Sumrall’s mother, Sandra, attended Saturday’s game.

“Man, it was tough, but I loved my dad,” Sumrall said. “I am largely who I am because of the way he raised me, and I can smile knowing that I will live a life that will honor my father. He watched us today. He probably has questions about the way we played, just like I do. I just don’t need to hear them from him tonight.

“I’m sure my mom will hear them, though. But man, it’s been hard.”