Trinidad Chambliss accounted for three second-half touchdowns as No. 12 Ole Miss pulled away from Auburn for a 45-15 victory on Saturday afternoon in Oxford, Miss.
Chambliss was 22-of-34 passing for 263 yards with two TDs and an interception. He rushed 65 yards on seven carries with a touchdown for the Rebels (6-2, 4-2 SEC), who won for the third consecutive time over the Tigers.
Chambliss has thrown a touchdown pass in 21 straight games, one off Chad Kelly’s school record.
Byrum Brown was 25-of-38 passing for 195 yards with a touchdown for Auburn (4-4, 2-4), while Christian Neptune had five receptions for 53 yards and Chas Nimrod had four receptions for 62 yards and a score.
On the first play of the second quarter, with a full-house backfield, Chambliss handed off to 315-pound Will Echoles, a defensive tackle, and he plunged into the end zone for a 7-0 lead to cap an 89-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes.
Auburn answered after Brown made a crucial conversion on 4th-and-2 in the red zone. Two plays later, he hit Nimrod on a post pattern for a 21-yard strike at 7:59 but the PAT was blocked.
Auburn’s AnQuon Fegans, who later departed with an ankle injury, intercepted a deflected pass at the Ole Miss 31, but the Rebels’ defense immediately forced a fumble by Brown that was recovered by Jamarious Brown.
Shekai Mills-Knight helped the Rebels down the field late in the first half and cashed in from a yard out for a 14-6. Alex McPherson nailed a 29-yard field to pull Auburn within 14-9 at the half.
As rain started to fall during the Rebels’ first second-half series, Chambliss converted a 3rd-and-9 on a designed draw. But Auburn’s defense hunkered down inside the 5 and forced Lucas Carneiro’s field goal from 20 yards at 9:46.
Brown scored on the Tigers’ next possession, maneuvering through the defense on a 7-yard run, but his 2-point pass attempt was caught short of the end zone as Ole Miss led 17-15.
Chambliss used his feet again to lift Ole Miss to a 24-15 lead when he took a direct snap and raced untouched 26 yards for a 24-15 lead.
Chambliss added a short scoring pass to Caleb Cunningham and a 28-yarder to Horatio Fields for a 38-15 lead in the fourth quarter.
Ole Miss’ Deuce Knight, a transfer from Auburn, scored on a 17-yard run for the final margin.