Three Observations From Ole Miss Football's Week 4 Victory Over Tulane Green Wave

Three Observations: Week 4 Edition

No. 1: The Ole Miss Defense Handled Business

Last weekend against the Arkansas Razorbacks, defensive coordinator Pete Golding saw his unit take jab after jab from dynamic quarterback Taylen Green. Yes, the Rebels bounced back in the second half, but it was an uncharacteristic performance from the defense.

Fast forward to Saturday in Oxford and Golding's unit made sure to come out the gate firing on all cylinders against another dual-threat signal-caller in Jake Retzlaff.

Ole Miss held Retzlaff to 5-of-17 on passing attempts with 56 yards through the air to go with 51 rushing yards on the day. Tulane totaled 282 yards of total offense and were held to three points until three minutes to go in the game.

The Green Wave were 6-for-15 on third down attempts with the Ole Miss defense keeping Tulane in check on Saturday in Oxford.

"I’m just really pleased how they performed and in the defense. After a tough week of a lot of criticism, which is extremely fair by how we played last week, to answer that in the style that they did, there’s three, maybe in a row, 4th down stops, which are basically turnovers," Kiffin said.

"When a team’s in 4-down situations, it’s hard to stop them. It’s a lot easier when they’re going to punt. So just really, really happy how they performed.”

No. 2: Trinidad Chambliss Making Presence Felt

Ferris State transfer Trinidad Chambliss made his way to Oxford in May with the program finding a diamond in the rough in the Division II All-American.

With Austin Simmons nursing an ankle injury suffered in Week 2 at Kentucky, Chambliss earned his second consecutive start of the season after taking QB1 reps against Arkansas last weekend.

But it's important to mention that Simmons was available on Saturday against Tulane, according to Kiffin.

Ole Miss rolled with Chambliss as Simmons continues looking to get back to 100 percent.

In Week 3, Chambliss ended the night with 415 yards of total offense with three scores to lead the Rebels to an SEC win over the Razorbacks.

Fast forward to Week 4 against the Tulane Green Wave and Chambliss did it once again for the Rebels at Vaught Hemingway Stadium.

The transfer signal-caller was shot out of a cannon from the jump after leading Ole Miss down the field on the opening drive of the game spearheaded by a 41-yard run to put the Rebels in the red-zone.

From there, Kiffin's program never looked back with the program never trailing.

Chambliss ended the day going 17-for-27 on passing attempts with 307 yards through the air to go along with 112 rushing yards on 14 carries.

In another strong showing, Chambliss tallies over 400 yards of total offense to lift the Rebels to a 4-0 start to the season.

No. 3: Special Teams Weapon Making a Difference

Ole Miss placekicker Lucas Carneiro was a Preseason All-American with the opportunity to make a difference for the Rebels in 2025.

The Western Kentucky transfer nailed 26 of 30 field goals with the Hilltoppers a season ago - which included a long of 54 yards.

Carneiro was 6-for-6 from 50-plus with his leg being able change games in 2024. Now, he's making a difference for the Rebels in his first season with the Ole Miss program.

In the second quarter, Carneiro tied his career-long with a 54-yard field goal with Ole Miss never looking back after going up 13-0.

The newcomer is 9-for-10 on the season where he's quickly emerging as a key weapon for Ole Miss moving forward.

It isn't the "flashy" observation, but having success on special teams will take the Rebels to another level with success on both offense and defense already on display.

No. 13 Ole Miss will host No. 3 LSU in Week 5 with both programs preparing for a dogfight at Vaught Hemingway Stadium.