Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, players disappointed despite win as No. 4 Rebels survive Washington State scare
OXFORD, Miss. — It wasn’t pretty, but it was enough. No. 4 Ole Miss survived a scare from Washington State on Saturday afternoon, escaping with a 24–21 win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to remain undefeated at 6–0.
Despite entering the matchup as 32.5-point favorites, the Rebels found themselves fighting from behind for much of the day before quarterback Trinidad Chambliss delivered when it mattered most.
Trailing late in the third quarter, Chambliss capped off a gritty drive with a 17-yard touchdown run to give Ole Miss its first lead of the game at 17–14.
🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹@TrinidadChambl1 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/Ei9npIf7Oo
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2025
Later, he found Cayden Lee on a 35-yard strike to extend the lead to 24–14—a cushion the Rebels would ultimately need as Washington State refused to go quietly.
SHEEESH CAYDEN 👀@Cayden_X_Lee x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/96KX7zNTX9
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2025
After the game, head coach Lane Kiffin didn’t hide his disappointment with the Rebels’ sluggish start and uneven execution in the early kickoff.
“The number one goal as a program is to go 1–0 every week, but outside of that, I’m just not really pleased with how we played today,” Kiffin said. “That’s on me. Maybe I’ve got to figure out a better way for these 11 a.m. kicks, but credit to them—they played hard. Still, this wasn’t to our standard.“
Lane Kiffin
“Number one goal as a program is to go 1-0 every week, but outside of that, just not really pleased with how we played today. It’s on me. Maybe I have to do better at these 11 A.M. kicks, but credit to them as well. But not to our standard”
– Lane Kiffin on his team today
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) October 11, 2025
Lee, too, talked after the game about the Rebels’ performance.
“I felt we were very sluggish. We didn’t start the way we wanted to, and I feel like we were very up and down. It felt like there was really no consistency, so we just have to play better.”
Cayden Lee
Quarterback Chambliss also spoke to his team’s struggles against Washington State.
“I feel like we didn’t execute on offense,” he began.
“We were driving the whole game and moving the ball, but we just couldn’t finish in the red zone. I didn’t play as well as I should as a quarterback, and that’s a lot on me moving the ball, executing on third downs, making the right choices, and making plays.”
Trinidad Chambliss
Even so, Ole Miss remains one of just a few unbeaten teams in college football and squarely in the hunt for a trip to Atlanta.
The Rebels now turn their attention to a top-10 showdown next weekend, traveling to Athens for a massive SEC clash with No. 10 Georgia. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception. Email Evie at: Evie@TheRebelWalk.com
