Georgia coach Kirby Smart knows exactly what kind of challenge Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss presents. He experienced it twice last year, the latter being a 362-yard, two-touchdown Sugar Bowl performance that ended his team's season.
On Saturday, the No. 2-ranked Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1 SEC, No. 2 CFP ) will face No. 12 Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2, No. 10 CFP) for the third time in 13 months, and much like their last encounter, this one has the potential to end playoff hopes.
Ole Miss has little margin for error as one of six teams in the Southeastern Conference with two losses. As for Georgia, it’s all about retaining the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.
But getting past Chambliss is no easy task.
In his second season leading the Rebels' attack, the quarterback tops the conference in completions (189), passing yards (2,189) and touchdown passes (18). He’s tacked on 199 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 48 carries.
“They probably have the best quarterback in the country who plays at a high level. He is extremely hard to defend and a great player,” Smart said. “The ‘wow’ plays are what you guys love and what America loves. He had some ‘wow’ plays against us last year, really, in both games, but especially the second. It’s the down-in, down-out decision-making that he’s really elite at. The accuracy that he’s elite at, the release, the decision.”
Chambliss was full of “wow” plays in an early-season win over LSU and former coach Lane Kiffin, catapulting him to the top of the Heisman race. But losses to Florida and Texas cooled that momentum while Miami's Darian Mensah and Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith have emerged as frontrunners. Chambliss has the fifth-best odds (+1500) entering Week 10, but a statement win against Georgia could put him right back in the conversation.
But there's no time to focus on individual accolades when the playoff is on the line. At least that was the halftime message Ole Miss coaches relayed to Chambliss during the Rebels' 45-15 win over Auburn.
“Quit trying to live up to this expectation and all this hype,” Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said Monday. “Just focus on doing your job to the best of your ability, and he did that.”
Golding assessed the tape from both Georgia games last year. He attributed a 43-35 regular-season loss largely to defensive misalignment and a lack of communication. Months later, in the 39-35 Sugar Bowl win, the coach commended his defense's ability to stop the run, force negative yardage plays and create turnovers.
He boiled this one down to winning the critical downs and turnover battle — a sentiment Chambliss similarly shared after the Auburn game.
“It’s going to come down to whatever team makes the fewest amount of mistakes, really, and who capitalizes on those mistakes,” Chambliss said. "We’ve got to play hard, play fast, play physical and leave it all out there because there’s a lot of playoff implications and stuff down the line. We can’t focus on that, but it’s a big game. We know that.”
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AP Sports Writer Charles Odum and Associated Press writer Chris Burrows contributed to this report.
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