Trinidad Chambliss is Just the Spark Kiffin-Less Ole Miss Needs for CFB Playoff Run

We'll get to the bracket and the madness of an upset few recognized as conceivable before the game began. Of course we will.

Ole Miss, without its original coaching architect, is headed to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff after stunning Georgia—and the rest of the sporting world—in the Sugar Bowl.

It's a moment that will be celebrated in Oxford living rooms for generations regardless of what happens next against Miami and beyond. But sometimes, especially in a sport as absurd as this, individual efforts overshadow moments—even moments this grand.

Sometimes, when given an opportunity, stardom blossoms in an everlasting way.

A year ago, none of this was possible for Trinidad Chambliss. Back then, he was the starting quarterback at Ferris State at the Division II level, a talented junior looking for a chance to make a roster at the Division I level the following season.

Even six months ago, when Lane Kiffin brought him in, Chambliss was the No. 2 QB on the depth chart at Ole Miss, backing up starter Austin Simmons.

In the first two games of the year, he threw a grand total of six passes. They came in garbage time. On Thursday night, Chambliss was brilliant, and he had to be brilliant. Anything less wouldn't have been enough.

The numbers were exceptional, especially against a Kirby Smart-engineered defense. Chambliss threw for 362 yards and scored two touchdowns. Numbers, however, fail to grasp what we just witnessed.

With the game tied at the end, Chambliss uncorked a 40-yard bomb to De'Zhaun Stribling who caught the ball in stride.

This was a video game brought to life, on the biggest stage imaginable. This was a one-game highlight tape for a QB suddenly overflowing with intrigue. This was one of the most memorable postseason games ever engineered by a quarterback, especially when you consider exactly how we arrived here.

As you're reading this, Lane Kiffin is currently navigating the recently opened transfer portal for LSU. The former Ole Miss head coach left the Rebels for the Tigers in brash and unusual fashion, banking on the potential of Baton Rouge over all he had built in Oxford.

Kiffin's departure, if we're being honest, felt like a deathblow for Ole Miss' postseason chances given the disarray surrounding the head coach and the rest of the staff.

A win over Tulane in the first round seemed to solidify the footing underneath their feet. A 39-34 win over Georgia suddenly gives the Kiffin-less Rebels all the confidence and momentum they need to keep this season going a while longer.

In those two playoff games, Chambliss accounted for 693 total yards, five touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Perhaps, in many respects, we shouldn't be surprised. Against Georgia in the regular season, Chambliss accounted for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns. In that game, Ole Miss gave up a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. This time around, Chambliss had to bring his team back from a nine-point deficit, and he did so in the most spectacular ways imaginable.

By no means was he a secret heading into Thursday. If you watched Ole Miss push for the playoffs in October and November, chances are you saw the team's backup-turned-starter deliver a moment or two (or more) each game.

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From the very beginning, no matter how unlikely his introduction to the SEC felt, Chambliss looked like he belonged. Only now, after watching him deliver one of the best individual performances we've ever seen, nothing will be the same.

Nor should it. Not for him, where the NFL scouts and team executives are likely drooling with curiosity. While many have wondered where Chambliss will be granted an extra year of eligibility after requesting a waiver from the NCAA, those plans might have changed with this performance.

Who knows.

Better yet, who cares?

Right now, on the heels of a legendary performance, those decisions can wait. As Kiffin looks toward his future, Chambliss is still squarely in the present. Playing without the coach who originally made it all possible, the Rebels, led by their backup QB who wasn't Division I worthy until this year, just toppled mighty Georgia.

Up next, Miami.

The challenge for Chambliss won't get any easier, especially given how disruptive the Hurricanes' defense has been. But Thursday night showed us what was possible when given the opportunity.

And Chambliss, thankfully, shows no signs of wanting this one to end.