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No. 6 Ole Miss cruises past The Citadel 49-0 in complete team effort

Posted by | Nov 8, 2025 |

No. 6 Ole Miss cruises past The Citadel 49-0 in complete team effort

OXFORD, Miss. — No. 6 Ole Miss dictated the pace from the opening drive and paired an efficient offense with a suffocating defense to take care of business 49-0 against an outmatched The Citadel team.

In his opening statement following the win, head coach Lane Kiffin said he was pleased with the way his starters performed.

“Those are challenging games to really get up for and execute the way that we did. I always think first downs tell a lot about how the game is going and how guys have prepared, 35-5 first downs. There was a lot of guys doing things really well. The guys really answered our challenge; it was the first game of the year and nothing else mattered. Come out with that same energy regardless of crowd, network, time of game, any of that.”

~ Kiffin in his opening statement

The Landshark defense gave up a season low of 106 yards, only giving up 23 yards passing and 83 rushing — 41 of those yards came on one play. The Ole Miss offense countered that with the second 600-yard game of the season to help post the first shutout for the program since opening the season in 2024 against Furman.

Game recap

Ole Miss wasted no time getting things going offensively, with Trinidad Chambliss immediately finding his rhythm in the short passing game. After inching the ball past midfield, the senior quarterback found Dae’Quan Wright along the sideline for a 13-yard gain — the last play of the game for the Rebel tight end, as he left with an injury.

Chambliss found Harrison Wallace III for a 25-yard gain, and Kewan Lacy punched in his first of three touchdowns two plays later to kick off the scoring in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The Citadel gained just 48 yards of total offense in a first half full of punts. On the Bulldogs’ opening drive, Princewill Umanmielen tackled running back Corey Ibrahim for a loss of one on third down to put the ball back in the hands of the Ole Miss offense.

Chambliss went right back to work, finding Wallace III consistently while also getting Deuce Alexander and Winston Watkins Jr. involved for a few first-down gains. Again, the drive ended with a pair of Lacy rushes that gave the Rebel tailback his second touchdown of the day, extending the lead to 14-0 eight minutes into play.

Following another Citadel punt, the Ole Miss offense looked human for the first time in the first quarter as it turned the ball over on downs in just four plays. Despite being set up at the Ole Miss 30-yard line, the Bulldogs gained just two yards and then missed a 46-yard field goal to keep the game at 14-0.

Ole Miss capitalized quickly thanks to a 17-yard pass to Trace Bruckler and a 32-yard gain on another Chambliss-to-Watkins Jr. connection. Those two big plays set up the first touchdown of Watkins’ collegiate career — a pass that was tipped into the air but landed perfectly in the freshman’s hands to make it a 21-0 Rebel lead at the end of the opening quarter.

The second quarter started with back-to-back tackles for loss by Suntarine Perkins and TJ Dottery to force another punt. Aided by a pass interference call, the Ole Miss offense continued to move the ball well and eventually capped the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Cayden Lee.

The Bulldogs picked up their first pair of first downs on the ensuing drive, but the momentum stalled near midfield, and the Rebel offense trotted back onto the field after a punt. Luke Hasz got involved with the Ole Miss offense for really the first time this season with a pair of grabs for 25 yards as the Rebels drained the remaining four minutes of the first half before Lacy capped the drive with a 3-yard score, his third and final of the day.

With that touchdown, Lacy tied the single-season program record for most rushing touchdowns at 16. The sophomore is also just 88 yards shy of becoming the 10th player in Ole Miss history with 1,000 rushing yards in a season.

Kiffin commented on Lacy tying the record after the game.

“It says a lot. He’s just a true sophomore and 10 games in. Our offensive line has done a really good job this year, really improved from the beginning of the year. He’s (Lacy) an elite runner and probably would have had a few more today if we would have left him in.”

~ Kiffin on Lacy tying the program record for rushing touchdowns 

Despite being up 35-0, most of the Ole Miss starters stayed in the game for the opening drive of the second half. Perkins and Sage Ryan recorded the first sack of the day to force a punt, and the Rebel offense wasted no time scoring. Caleb Odom made his first big play of the game with a 40-yard catch-and-run down to the Bulldog 13 before capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown grab of his own.

After the win, Odom credited the entire wide receiver room for the season they have had and being able to learn from one another.

“I think just collectively, the whole tight end room, we’ve been piggy-backing off of each other — being behind a guy like Dae’Quan (Wright), it’s just crazy to watch the plays he makes. I think he is a great mentor. I learn something new from him everyday whether it’s blocking wise or receiving wise.”

~ Odom on the Ole Miss tight ends

That would do it for a majority of the Rebel starters as the bench began to clear. Austin Simmons checked into the game and went three-and-out on his opening drive, and the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs as the third quarter came to a close.

Simmons found Lee for a 31-yard gain to the other side of the field to start the final period, but the sophomore quarterback later threw his fifth interception of the season on a ball that was batted in the air at the line of scrimmage. Again, the Citadel offense could do nothing with the short field and eventually missed a second field goal.

Both teams traded punts before the Ole Miss offense finally found some rhythm with Simmons at the helm. Freshman Dillon Alfred made a grab for 26 yards to push the ball into the red zone, while Damien Taylor shouldered the carries before eventually capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to end the scoring.

AJ Maddox checked in behind center for the final offensive drive for the Rebels, draining the last four minutes of the game. Ole Miss fans even got to see appearances from Caleb Cunningham on a 19-yard catch and Shekai Mills-Knight on a few carries.

The Ole Miss defense recorded a season-high 13 tackles for loss while allowing a season-low in yards. Perkins and Dottery led the way with a combined four tackles for loss, and Perkins combined for one of the two sacks along with Ryan.

The Ole Miss offense racked up 603 total yards, with 452 coming through the air. Playing only two quarters and one second-half drive, Chambliss finished with 333 yards and three touchdowns while completing 88 percent of his passes. Wallace III led all receivers with eight grabs for 87 yards, and Lacy led the rushing attack with 11 carries for 49 yards.

Chambliss commented on his performance against the Bulldogs after the game.

“It was great to bounce back from last week, wasn’t efficient at all last week. I knew this week I wanted to be very technical in my mechanics. Just make sure I was playing sharp no matter who we are playing — it felt good to be better out there today.”

~ Chambliss on his performance 

Up next

The Rebels will stay in Oxford and prepare to host the Florida Gators next Saturday, Nov. 15. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
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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