Trinidad Chambliss threw three touchdown passes, ran for another and led Ole Miss to a 31-3 victory over Missouri on Saturday afternoon.
And afterward, the Rebels’ quarterback was talking about how he needed to get better.
That’s a pretty good indication of just how dangerous Chambliss can be, even when he isn’t playing his best football.
“Some of my passes were behind our receivers,” Chambliss said. “That was just on me. The accuracy wasn’t there for some of my throws, and that’s something that I have to clean up.”
And he’s not wrong.
Chambliss completed just 20 of his 36 passes against Missouri, connecting on 55.6% of his attempts. He finished with 241 passing yards, which isn’t particularly impressive by the standards he’s established this season.
There were missed opportunities, inaccurate throws and an entire third quarter in which the passing attack struggled.
But here’s the thing. Even with those shortcomings, Chambliss was responsible for all four Ole Miss touchdowns.
His three touchdown passes went to three different receivers, and two came on third downs when the Rebels needed him to deliver.
The first was a 10-yard touchdown to Caleb Odom in the first quarter.
Then came perhaps his most impressive throw of the afternoon, a 21-yard touchdown to Horatio Fields on third-and-10 in the second quarter.
With Fields running a post route, Chambliss recognized the positioning of the middle-of-the-field safety and delivered the football into a tight window.
“I felt like he had enough room to catch it and for me to put the throw in,” Chambliss said. “It was tight coverage by the corner, and it was a bang-bang catch. Fit it in there. That was an unbelievable catch.”
Later, Chambliss connected with Caleb Cunningham for a 17-yard touchdown on third-and-6 before adding a five-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
But perhaps equally impressive was how Chambliss distributed the football.
Nine different Ole Miss players caught passes Saturday, with Odom, Cunningham, Traylon Ray and Deuce Alexander each recording at least three receptions.
“Getting everybody involved is crucial,” Chambliss said. “Not being just solely focused on one receiver or two receivers. Our guys are able to make a lot of plays when the ball is in their hands.”
And despite his accuracy issues, Chambliss didn’t throw an interception or take a sack.
It certainly helped that Ole Miss accumulated 257 rushing yards, including 122 from Kewan Lacy and 101 from Makhi Frazier.
The Rebels didn’t need Chambliss to carry the entire offense, providing some breathing room when his accuracy temporarily deserted him.
But that’s also what makes this offense increasingly dangerous.
Chambliss doesn’t have to be perfect for Ole Miss to score touchdowns. He just has to make the right throws at the right moments, take advantage of the playmakers around him and avoid costly mistakes.
Against Missouri, he did all three.
And for future opponents, there’s a potentially frightening realization.
If Chambliss can account for four touchdowns on an afternoon when he believes his accuracy was lacking, imagine what this offense might look like when everything is clicking.
