The outcome of a game is never determined solely on one thing.
It’s always a mix of different factors that lead one team to showing it’s the better team. Or, in rare cases, it shows one teams is just really, really lucky.
That’s true for No. 6 Ole Miss’s 41-10 win against No. 11 Tulane in Saturday’s first round College Football Playoff game.
No one player, position group, coach or statistic is solely responsible for the win. It’s a mix of a bunch of different things.
But that doesn’t make for an exciting column. So, here are the five things, statistics and players that stand out the most in the aftermath of the Rebels’ historic win.
Fourth Downs
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding had talked about the importance of winning critical downs, like third and fourth downs.
The Rebels were better defensively on third downs, holding Tulane to 5-of-13 successful attempts. Ole Miss was 3-for-10. However, the Rebels recorded more first downs, 29-20.
A big reason for that was what happened on fourth down conversion attempts.
The Rebels had two fourth down attempts and were successful on both. Tulane had four attempts and failed each time.
Turnovers
An ingredient for an upset is stealing possessions and Tulane had just one stolen possession that ended in failed Hail Mary, Hook-and-Ladder attempt to end the first half.
Meanwhile, the Rebels forced three turnovers that led to 14 points after they had already built a multi-possession lead in the first half.
Penalties
Saturday’s playoff game was fairly clean and the men wearing zebra stripes didn’t have to get too involved. There weren’t any controversial replay reviews and the game had just four total penalties.
But if we go back to the recipe for an upset, the underdog needs to have fewer penalties and can’t afford a penalty in a critical situation.
Tulane lost that battle, being penalized three times for 38 yards. Ole Miss had just one false start penalty resulting in a loss of three yards.
QB/WR Play
Trinidad Chambliss isn’t the sole reason Ole Miss won its first-ever playoff game. Neither is Duece Alexander or De’Zhaun Stribling.
But as a collective, the passing game is a big reason Ole Miss won.
Chambliss completed 23-of-29 passes, giving him a 79 completion percentage and at least one the five incompletions was a dropped pass. His counterpart, Jake Retzlaff, completed 20-of-35 passes, which is just a 57 percent average.
Add in Austin Simmons was 4-for-5 in his limited action (injury relief and late in the fourth quarter) and the disparity grows even larger.
Logan Diggs
Kewan Lacy went down with an injury to his left arm late in the first half when Ole Miss’s offense was just starting to overcome two poor drives.
Watching one of the best players walk off the field and enter the medical tent was a serious cause for concern. Diggs had an 11-yard catch two plays later that gave him an opportunity to flash some skills and those concerns were eased (somewhat).
Lacy was able to return in the second half and ended the game with 87 yards with 5.8 yards per carry and one touchdown. Diggs, plus Damien Taylor and Chambliss had a combined 72 rushing yards.
The Rebels are obviously better with Lacy, but should that injury be serious (he did leave before the game ended), maybe not all hope will be lost.
