Trinidad Chambliss, Not Lane Kiffin, is the Biggest Story in College Football
Somehow, the greatest show of all was an afterthought all week long.
Well, not somehow. We know exactly why.
Lane Kiffin does that. In fact, he's a master of it. Perhaps no personality in all of sports has mastered the art of reveling in the spotlight—good, bad, or in between—quite like him. This week was no different.
In fact, it was amplified.
Lost in the hate, revenge and venom that blanketed Kiffin's much-anticipated Oxford return—a reunion serenaded with expletives from one sunrise to the next—we largely neglected the person who would actually decide the outcome of the most anticipated football game to date.
His name is Trinidad Chambliss. He's part quarterback, part magician.
He's now the favorite to win the Heisman—or at the very least, he should be—after conquering LSU to a 32-24 win, scoring the go-ahead touchdown deep in the fourth quarter.
In the first half, the game was lopsided in Ole Miss' favor thanks in large part to Chambliss' brilliance. The quarterback completed 21 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns in the first 30 minutes, as an exasperated, animated Kiffin looked on in disbelief.
While the second half featured an inspiring surge by the Tigers, Chambliss' touchdown run made the ultimate difference. Overall, he finished with 363 passing yards and three touchdowns.
In doing so, he lifted Ole Miss, Kiffin's former team, to a 3-0 mark.
The spectacle that led up to this game- months upon months of wondering what this scene would look like- culminated in an electric scene. While cameras followed Kiffin's every move, the player he unearthed and molded led to his undoing.
A year ago, almost to the day, the Ferris State transfer was thrust into his first meaningful action at Ole Miss when the team's starting quarterback was injured.
A year later, Chambliss spoiled the man's return, who made his rise possible, delivering a performance that will be celebrated in Mississippi households for generations.
At this point, why should we be surprised?
This has been the Chambliss way.
The Division II transfer didn't just play well when he took over as Kiffin's QB last year; he thrived. An incredible regular season gave way to a dazzling postseason, one that saw Chambliss take down Tulane, Georgia and nearly Miami to make the national championship
In those three games, the QB was sensational. He extended plays with his legs, delivered fastballs in stride and found a way to create when plays were seemingly dead.
He was particularly excellent when Ole Miss was in disarray—a product of Kiffin's elongated decision to leave coupled with the drama and disruptions surrounding a team squarely in the College Football Playoff.
Coming into this season, the storyline surrounding his small-school arrival was long behind him. Instead, Chambliss was largely recognized as one of the best players in the sport. One could argue that his performance on Saturday night positions him squarely as the face of college football.
The fact that he beat Kiffin in such epic fashion makes it that much more captivating.
Whether he's embraced the title or not, Kiffin has reemerged as the sport's true villain yet again. LSU's overpowering win over Clemson in Week 1 only elevated his status, providing substance that his team could be forced from the start.
That moment made this week possible. Kiffin, to his credit, kept his team squarely in the game even when they fell behind early and a potential blowout loomed.
That wasn't to be, though Ole Miss found a way. There's no mystery how the Rebels arrived here. At the center of it all was a quarterback capable of seemingly anything.
It's hard to connect the dots that Kiffin himself has openly connected. He ultimately left Ole Miss for LSU largely because he believed the infrastructure in Baton Rouge could offer him a better chance to win national championships.
Perhaps, in time, that will prove true. One game won't dictate this decision. But at least for one night, a night that will live on for some time, Ole Miss proved him wrong.
Heading into Saturday, the spotlight was squarely on the man who made the scene possible. As both teams move beyond the drama, a new storyline has emerged.
Ole Miss has a player—the player—capable of making its biggest football dreams come true.
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