No. 6 Mississippi scored twice in the game’s first eight minutes and then pulled away in the second half to beat No. 11 Tulane 41-10 in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.
With the win, the Rebels advance to a Sugar Bowl matchup in the quarterfinals against No. 3 Georgia. The Bulldogs beat Ole Miss 45-35 in October.
The Rebels were playing without former coach Lane Kiffin, who left for LSU after the end of the regular season. He was replaced by former defensive coordinator Pete Golding, the first coach in Bowl Subdivision history to make his debut in the playoff.
Even without Kiffin, the offense continued to operate as a two-man game between quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy. Chambliss went 23 of 29 for 282 yards and Lacy added 94 yards of total offense on 16 touches before leaving with an injury.
Ole Miss came out of the gate energized for a rematch of September’s 45-10 rout of the Green Wave, who went on to win the American and were the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the final playoff rankings.
The Rebels went 75 yards and scored in three plays on the opening possession, taking up less than a minute of clock thanks to a 30-yard completion by Chambliss, a 25-yard completion and then a 20-yard touchdown run from Lacy.
Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff was then intercepted in the red zone to give the ball back to Ole Miss, which went 60 yards in just four plays to take a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
The Rebels were unable to deliver something close to a knockout blow just before halftime, however, after backup quarterback Austin Simmons replaced a banged-up Chambliss and fumbled in the Tulane red zone with 20 seconds left in the second quarter. That held the score at 17-3 heading into the break.
Both Chambliss and Lacy, who was evaluated in the medical tent for an apparent shoulder injury earlier on that same drive, returned in the second half. Lacy seemed to reaggravate his shoulder late in the third quarter and didn’t return.
The lead grew on the Rebels’ first possession of the third quarter, when Chambliss found De’Zhaun Stribling for a 13-yard touchdown to put Ole Miss ahead 24-3. Chambliss completed all four of his throws on the drive for 64 yards.
Tulane’s resulting drive ended near midfield with Retzlaff coming up short of two attempted quarterback sneaks, highlighting the Rebels’ immense edge at the line of scrimmage. Ole Miss added a 48-yard field goal by Lucas Carneiro to go up 27-3 with 4:57 left in the quarter.
After Retzlaff fumbled during a short run on the ensuing possession to turn the ball over again near midfield, Ole Miss went 52 yards ending with a scoring run by backup Logan Diggs to take a 34-3 lead one play into the fourth quarter and put the game away.
A former Brigham Young transfer, Retzlaff finished 20-for-35 for 306 yards with a touchdown and interception.
This was the last game for second-year Tulane coach Jon Sumrall, who was recently hired by Florida. His replacement is current Tulane assistant and former Southern Mississippi coach Will Hall.