Trinidad Chambliss threw three touchdown passes, Ole Miss scored four touchdowns in a nine-minute span of the second quarter and the No. 9 Rebels routed host Vanderbilt 52-17 on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
Chambliss completed 20 of 30 passes for 213 yards with an interception as Ole Miss (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) came out of a bye week and bounced back emphatically from a 52-28 loss at Florida two weeks ago.
Jared Curtis returned from a one-week absence due to a knee injury to pass for 222 yards and a touchdown for the Commodores (3-3, 0-3), but he also committed three turnovers, two of which led to touchdowns during the second-quarter blitz.
Vanderbilt received the second-half kickoff and drove to a 13-yard scoring pass from Curtis to Ja’Cory Thomas for the Commodores’ first touchdown, leaving Ole Miss with a 42-10 lead that held up through the end of the third quarter.
Lucas Carneiro’s 42-yard field goal and Shekai Mills-Knight’s 35-yard touchdown run completed the scoring for the Rebels. Vanderbilt’s Jamezell Lassiter ran 1 yard for a touchdown for the game’s final score.
On the Rebels’ second possession of the game, Chambliss’ 10-yard touchdown run produced a 7-0 lead. Brock Taylor answered with a 45-yard field goal on the ensuing possession, but then Ole Miss answered with a Kewan Lacy 2-yard touchdown run for a 14-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Chambliss threw touchdown passes of 2 yards to Jamarious Brown and 39 yards to Deuce Alexander to push the lead to 28-3. The Commodores drove to the Rebels 19-yard line, but on fourth-and-5, Curtis was sacked for a 2-yard loss.
Vanderbilt got the ball back on a punt deep into its territory late in the second quarter. Curtis fumbled while being sacked near his goal line. Suntarine Perkins picked up the ball and ran 5 yards for a touchdown.
On the ensuing kickoff, Evan Hamptom fumbled and Isreal Solomon recovered, giving Ole Miss the ball at the Commodores 9-yard line. Two plays later, Chambliss threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Michael Smith to expand the lead to 42-3 at halftime.
