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Ole Miss runs past Georgia State 63-7 in season opener

Posted by | Aug 31, 2025 |

Ole Miss runs past Georgia State 63-7 in season opener

OXFORD, Miss. — Behind a balanced attack from the Ole Miss offense in the starting debut of quarterback Austin Simmons and a swarming Landshark defense, Ole Miss opened the 2025 season with a 63-7 rout of Georgia State on Saturday.

“Really pleased with the offensive balance in a game with only two returning starters on offense. We got to tackle better, but a balanced game on both sides of the ball”

~ Lane Kiffin after the win

Game recap

The Ole Miss defense seemed to pick up right where they left off in 2024: physical and disruptive. After converting on a fourth-and-one gamble, the Rebels stood tall thanks to a pass breakup from returning defensive back Nick Cull.

Harrison Wallace III showcased his blazing speed on a punt return well past midfield but the play was called back due to a holding penalty. That did not phase the Ole Miss offense one bit as first-year starter Austin Simmons rose to the occasion, hitting Dae’Quan Wright for a first down on the opening play. Simmons didn’t stop there; he connected with Wallace III for another first down on the next play and then went back to Wright for a 38-yard rope across the middle of the field to put the Rebels up 7-0 in a hurry.

“I wasn’t really nervous — of course I am going to have some mistakes here and there, some mental errors like the interceptions early in the game. I feel like I did a good job, especially with the whole offensive unit. We were very explosive down the field, we were moving the ball well. I am really excited for this whole team.”

~ Simmons on his thoughts of his debut

Things did not go as planned for the sophomore signal-caller after that. The Ole Miss defense forced a quick three-and-out, but Simmons was hit as he threw on the second play of the drive and turned the ball over for the first time in his young career.

The Panthers put together a solid drive into Ole Miss territory on the next possession, but it was Zxavian Harris with the first sack of the year on third down to force a field goal. The attempt from Georgia State kicker Liam Rickman missed off the left upright as the Rebels stayed in front by seven.

Head coach Lane Kiffin talked about the dominance from Harris after the win.

“He’s a force. He had a great camp and really presents a lot of problems for the defense. It was exciting to see him today, and he created a lot of havoc”

~ Kiffin on Zxavian Harris

Simmons went back to work after the first interception, putting together a drive that introduced freshman wideout Winston Watkins Jr. with a 28-yard gain. The Rebels pushed into the rezone after the 31-rush of the from Deuce Alexander and a short run from Kewan Lacy. However, the new Rebel quarterback made his first true mistake of the game, throwing an interception in the end zone after not seeing the hovering safety.

Kiffin commented on Simmons’ debut after the game.

“He had one really bad play — the second interception — the first one wasn’t his fault. We’ve seen that before in quarterbacks, Jaxson did something similar. He took care of his self, slid really well, and did some very important things.”

~ Kiffin on Austin Simmons’ performance

Another stop by the Landshark defense gave Simmons chance to flush the turnovers and the sophomore again found his favorite target, Wallace III, for a 47-yard gain down the sideline. A couple of rushes from Lacy and the first sighting of backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss in the wildcat package put the Rebels near the redzone before a third down stop from the Georgia State defense led to a Lucas Carneiro field goal that put Ole Miss up 10-0 early in the second quarter.

Lacy began to hit his stride on the following possession for the Rebels, stringing together multiple runs with yards after contact before capping off a nine-play drive with his first touchdown of the season. The Panthers answered in a hurry thanks to a few big gains from former Ole Miss running back Rashad Amos leading to a 43-yard catch-and-run score from Javon Robinson that made it a 17-7 game with five minutes left in the half.

The Ole Miss offense responded with a long drive put together by a ton of rushes from Simmons and transfer Damien Taylor. Lacy then checked back in around goal line and exploded into the end zone for his second score of the night to make it a 25-7 Ole Miss lead at the half thanks to a successful two-point conversion run by Chambliss in the wildcat.

Simmons went right back to work in the opening drive of the second half, continuing to find Wallace III in open space. Lacy would later end the drive with a 42-yard score for his third and final touchdown of the game. The Missouri transfer finished his Rebel debut with 108 yards on 16 carries. Kiffin praised the new Rebel running back after the game.

“It was awesome — we didn’t have that a year ago. It was really good to have it back; I was looking forward to that. We were kind of thinking he was going to play like that because that is how he practices. He (Lacy) has a unique skillset of speed and power. It was great to see that the ball can break and go score.”

~ Kiffin on Kewan Lacy

The Ole Miss defense continued to be a problem in the second half and it was Harris forcing the first turnover of the season. No, it was not the normal forced fumble out of the big man, it was his first career interception that set the Rebels up in the redzone including a ‘slam-dunk’ celebration that maybe went a little too far. Transfer Caleb Odom joined the scoring party a few plays later with a nine-yard pass from Simmons to make it a 39-7 lead just under four minutes into the half.

Georgia State’s defense finally forced the Ole Miss offense to punt of its next possession and the Rebels did not score again until Carneiro drilled his second field goal of the night from 33 yards out with 20 seconds left in the third.

Simmons finished his night after the first drive of the fourth quarter, but not before tossing his third touchdown of his debut. The Rebel signal-caller connected with Odom for 35 yards on the first play of the drive before finding Wallace III over the middle for a 26-yard score to extend the lead to 49-7. The debut for the sophomore ended with 341 yards through the air, three touchdowns, a pair of interceptions and 17 yards on the ground.

Both squads traded punts early in the fourth with backups beginning to enter the game on both sides. Chambliss later led a scoring drive consisting of a big gain on a connection to De’Zhaun Stribling that led to a 13-yard passing touchdown to Izaiah Hartrup.

The Panthers drove deep into Rebel territory on the following possession but ultimately turned it over on downs with three minutes remaining.

Returner Logan Diggs had bigger plans instead of running out the clock.  The Ole Miss back rattled off a 51-yard rush into Georgia State territory and finished the drive with a 5-yard score to cap off the 63-7 victory for the Rebels. Diggs carried the ball seven times in the fourth quarter for 91 yards.

Ole Miss finished with 695 total yards of offense with 295 of those coming from the new-and-improved ground game. Wallace III led all receivers with five receptions and 130 yards as Wright followed with four grabs for 78 yards.

“He (Wallace III) is just an overall ball hawk. He can go up and get the ball, he can win one-on-one, just a really goof talent to have on the outside — you’re just going to see a whole lot of plays made down the field.”

~ Simmons on his Harrison Wallace III

The Landshark defense did not look as dominate in the run-stopping department as the 2024 defense did, allowing 191 yards rushing with 108 of those coming in the second half. However, the Rebels only allowed 69 passing yards — an area that was considered a weak spot in the historic Pete Golding unit a year ago.

TJ Dottery led the defense with nine tackles, a pass breakup and a combined tackle for loss with Tahj Chambers. Harris put on a show as well with five tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack and the interception.

Up Next

The Rebels advance t0 1-0 on the year after scoring 60-plus in a third consecutive season opener. Next week, No. 21 Ole Miss will travel to Lexington for a redemption game against the Kentucky Wildcats. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on ABC.
Kameron Wicker

Kam is an Ole Miss alumnus with a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. He currently resides in Gulf Shores, Alabama where he works full-time as a sports editor.

About The Author

Kameron Wicker

Kam is an Ole Miss alumnus with a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. He currently resides in Gulf Shores, Alabama where he works full-time as a sports editor.

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