Ole Miss didn’t put up 70 points, set any yardage records or make any attention-grabbing box score lines.
But the Rebels won 41-9 against an overmatched Charlotte team. There were plenty of great moments by Ole Miss in every area of the game. There were times the offense did whatever it wanted. Times the defense was suffocating. Kicker Lucas Carneiro made a 57-yard field goal and Kam Franklin blocked a Charlotte field goal attempt.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN 😮💨
A 57 yard field goal for @lcarneiro99! #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/xzIIGW4opU
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 13, 2026
However, and coach Pete Golding will likely fixate on this, it wasn’t all good. Overall, a win’s a win. But this one had things for the Rebels to work on.
Here are a few of my instant reactions to the Rebels’ win.
Ole Miss defensive line was dominant
Charlotte struggled for most of the game at blocking the Rebels’ d-line. Running lanes were non-existent, offensive linemen were playing on ice skates and quarterback Cole Gonzales rarely had a clean pocket to stand in. Michai Boireau had his own pushback into a tackle, like Jeheim Oatis had a week ago.
KAM SAID NOT TODAY 🗣️@KamarionFrankl1 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/HqkWZEEs70
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 13, 2026
Ole Miss held the 49ers to 32 rushing yards in the first half and most of the total 143 came on a 43-yard run by Chance Williams on the first play of the second half. The defense didn’t record any sacks, but Gonzales was running away from defenders all night.
Charlotte won the third quarter
If the entire game was played like the first 15 minutes after halftime, you’re reading a completely different story right now. Because in that time, Charlotte played better football.
The 49ers outgained Ole Miss 116-60 in total offense, held the Rebels’ to negative (1) rushing yards, sacked Chambliss once and held possession for 11 minutes, 26 seconds. Ole Miss didn’t help its cause either, committing three penalties that gave Charlotte 22 free yards.
It was a weird quarter. Charlotte was opening up running lanes, gave Gonzales a couple of clean pockets and the Rebels’ offensive did the opposite. It was almost as if some weird body swap happened.
The only saving grace from this game becoming something much different was the Ole Miss defense holding Charlotte to a pair of field goals, including one after the 49ers had first-and-goal from the two yard line.
Trinidad Chambliss had a really good night
Chambliss didn’t set any records. He had just 225 passing yards and two touchdowns, but only three incompletions. That’s hard to do against air, let alone a defense of any kind.
One of the incompletions was a dropped pass, another came when a 49er defender had a free run at Chambliss and the last one came on a Crossfield screen pass that didn’t have enough juice on it. And a haze of firework smoke to get through.
There was also a wider cast of pass catchers. Deuce Alexander was the leader (8 catches, 76 yards), but Horatio Fields had four catches and a touchdown and Johntay Cook II had his first touchdown catch as a Rebel.
Let him COOK 👨🍳#HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/sKGcnJEmLI
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 13, 2026
It wasn’t a flashy night and won’t generate much Heisman buzz, but it was pretty close to a perfect one.
Defensive secondary shows some improvement
This was the big question everyone had. Would the coverage busts shown last week against Louisville resurface again? Or could they be fixed during the week.
The answer: eh, kind of.
There were no glaring coverage busts that left a receiver wide open downfield for an easy touchdown. But there were mistakes, most notably defensive backs biting hard on fake screens and bubbles. A few times Charlotte’s receivers flat-out beat an Ole Miss defensive back, too.
Most of the mistakes were the kind the Rebels’ superior talent level could overcome. That won’t be an option next week.
