Ole Miss overcomes sluggish start to outlast Washington State, 24-21
OXFORD, Miss. — Despite a day filled with stalled drives, costly penalties and missed chances on both sides of the ball, the No. 4-ranked Ole Miss Rebels scraped together just enough to outlast Washington State, 24-21, and escape with a hard-fought win.
It wasn’t pretty, but Ole Miss beats Washington State and remains undefeated, moving to 6-0 on the season. pic.twitter.com/E0NsWRVVPs
— The Rebel Walk (@TheRebelWalk) October 11, 2025
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin commented on struggling in a game like this after the win.
“Almost all the game this years, if you look, we have two score leads. If you look back to the year before, I don’t think we even trailed by two scores. We just have to close these games out.”
~ Lane Kiffin after the game against Washington State
Game recap
On the opening drive of the game, Trinidad Chambliss and the Ole Miss offense looked unstoppable. But the 11-play march ended in disappointment, as the Rebels turned it over on downs at the Washington State 4-yard line after Chambliss’ pass into the end zone fell incomplete.
After the game, Chambliss commented on the lethargic play from the Ole Miss offense.
“I feel like we didn’t execute as an offense, we were driving, and I just didn’t play as well as I should as a quarterback. We were prepared all week, and we just didn’t execute, and that’s on me as a quarterback.”
~ Chambliss on the Ole Miss offense against Washington State
The Rebel defense responded with a quick three-and-out to get the ball back, but that’s when the struggles began. Ole Miss again crossed midfield, but a negative play and back-to-back incompletions forced a 47-yard field goal attempt from Lucas Carneiro that missed wide right.
Things went from bad to worse as the defense began to falter. Washington State quarterback Zevi Eckhaus found a rhythm with the short passing game and eventually tossed up a prayer to a wide-open Landon Wright for the game’s first points, giving the Cougars a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Kewan Lacy was a bright spot for the Rebels in the first half, rushing for 98 yards on 13 carries. The sophomore tailback helped push Ole Miss back into Washington State territory alongside De’Zhaun Stribling, who had his best game of the season. But the momentum stalled again when Chambliss was sacked near the 30-yard line, losing the football as the Cougars recovered.
Fortunately for the Rebels, the defense began to find its footing. Washington State brought out the field goal unit for a 54-yard attempt, but it fell short. The Ole Miss offense capitalized behind more strong plays from Lacy and Stribling, and this time Carneiro converted a 40-yard field goal to make it 7-3 with six minutes left in the half.
The Cougars crossed midfield once more before Princewill Umanmielen brought pressure into the backfield to end the drive.
Lacy then carried the ball five times for 41 yards on the ensuing drive, pushing the Rebels deep into Cougar territory with under a minute left in the half. Chambliss began to settle in, finding Dae’Quan Wright for a 30-yard gain on third-and-short before hitting him again on a two-yard strike to give Ole Miss a 10-7 lead heading into the locker room.
Wright on the money 🤑@TrinidadChambl1 ➡️ @DaequanWright pic.twitter.com/Orivk9AfzC
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2025
Chambliss talked about his growing trust with Ole Miss receivers after the game.
“Same as usual, always trust my guys to make plays. Dae’Quan is reliable, and just like Strib, always open.”
~ Chambliss on the Ole Miss receivers
The Rebels carried momentum into halftime, but the Cougars quickly flipped it to open the second half. After a roughing-the-passer penalty on third-and-long extended the drive, Washington State running back Kirby Vorhees broke free down the sideline for a 46-yard touchdown to put the Cougars ahead 14-10.
Ole Miss went three-and-out for the first time all game on its next possession. Washington State tried to extend its lead but was stopped near midfield after Wydett Williams Jr. delivered a big hit on third down to force a punt.
Wydett Williams with the stop 🛑@WilliamsWydett x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/Jqt0cSx3YQ
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2025
Deuce Alexander sparked the Rebels with an 18-yard gain on a screen pass, but the offense again stalled after Chambliss was sacked to bring up third-and-long. Facing fourth-and-one near midfield, a broken play was turned into Lacy bouncing outside to pick up a crucial first down.
An 8-yard run by Logan Diggs turned into a 23-yard play after a targeting penalty, moving Ole Miss back into the red zone for the first time in the half. On third down, Chambliss made something out of nothing, scrambling past defenders for a 17-yard touchdown run to give the Rebels a 17-14 lead entering the fourth quarter.
🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹🇹@TrinidadChambl1 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/Ei9npIf7Oo
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2025
After back-to-back three-and-outs, the Rebels later extended their lead in a hurry. Lacy broke free for 23 yards on the opening play of the drive, setting up a 35-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Cayden Lee, who made defenders miss on his way to the end zone.
Kewan Lacy. That’s it. That’s the tweet. #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/rjsvvIJBni
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2025
SHEEESH CAYDEN 👀@Cayden_X_Lee x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/96KX7zNTX9
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 11, 2025
Despite the win, Lee had thoughts on his team’s performance against the Cougars.
“I feel like it really doesn’t matter who we play,” he said. “If we play like we did today, it’s gonna catch us at some point.”
With just under seven minutes to play, Ole Miss led 24-14 — but Washington State wasn’t done. The Rebels were flagged for another costly penalty on third-and-long, and Eckhaus took advantage, methodically moving the Cougars downfield before hitting Tony Freeman for a 19-yard touchdown to make it 24-21 with two and a half minutes remaining.
On the first play of the ensuing drive, Wright caught a pass in the flat and raced 42 yards into Cougar territory, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty brought the ball back to midfield. The Washington State defense forced a punt soon after, giving its offense one last chance. But with no timeouts, the clock running and a big sack for Will Echoles, the Cougars ran out of time — and Ole Miss held on for the win.
Lacy led the Rebel offense with a career high 142 yards on 24 carries while Chambliss finished 20-for-29 through the air with three total touchdowns. Wright was his leading receiver with four grabs for 80 yards and a touchdown.
The Ole Miss defense was led by Kam Franklin having an outstanding day with six tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass deflection and a forced fumble.
“We came out 1-0, but lack of attention to detail, came out starting slow on both sides. Just come in Monday, with a better focus.”
~ Franklin on the message after the game
Up next
The Rebels will hit the road to Athens next week on Oct. 18 to take on the top-10 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. The game will be televised on ABC at 2:30 p.m. CT.
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.
