Trinidad Chambliss passed for 353 yards and one touchdown and rushed for two scores in his first major college start to help No. 17 Ole Miss win a 41-35 shootout against Arkansas on Saturday night in Southeastern Conference play at Oxford, Miss.
Chambliss drew the start because Austin Simmons is dealing with an ankle injury. The transfer from Division II Ferris State completed 21 of 29 passes and rushed for 62 yards on 15 attempts for the Rebels (3-0, 2-0 SEC).
Harrison Wallace III caught six passes for 92 yards and one touchdown for Ole Miss. De’Zhaun Stribling also caught a scoring pass and Kewan Lacy ran for one for the Rebels.
Taylen Green completed 22 of 35 passes for 305 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 111 yards and one score for Arkansas (2-1, 0-1). Mike Washington rushed for two touchdowns, Braylen Russell rushed for one and O’Mega Blake caught one for the Razorbacks.
Arkansas senior cornerback Kani Walker was carted off the field on a stretcher nine seconds into the fourth quarter after getting hit in the back of the head by the legs of teammate Caleb Wooden while defending a pass play.
Walker had movement in all his extremities and was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital in Oxford, according to Arkansas. The game was delayed for approximately 12 minutes. Walker gave a thumbs-up sign while being carted off.
Shortly before that injury, Chambliss threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Stribling to give Ole Miss a 38-28 lead with 4:56 remaining in the third quarter.
Lucas Carneiro tacked on a 23-yard field goal to put the Rebels ahead by 13 with 10:58 left in the game.
Arkansas moved within 41-35 when Washington scored on a 3-yard run with 4:56 left. The Razorbacks had another chance but Jalen Brown fumbled at the Ole Miss 24-yard line and Ole Miss’ Wydett Williams Jr. recovered it there with 1:52 remaining.
Carneiro kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give Ole Miss a 31-28 lead.
The first quarter was quiet with Lacy scoring on a 2-yard run for the Rebels and Green tossing a 30-yard scoring pass to Blake for the Razorbacks. What followed was a wild 45-point second quarter.
Chambliss scored on a 2-yard run to give Ole Miss a 14-7 lead before Arkansas answered on Washington’s 47-yard run. The Rebels again moved ahead on Chambliss’ 1-yard TD run before Russell’s 3-yard scoring run for the Razorbacks knotted it at 21 with 7:01 left in the first half.
Chambliss badly cut his right hand on the next Ole Miss possession and Simmons entered the game. Simmons capped the drive with a 4-yard scoring toss to Wallace with 3:17 left but aggravated the ankle injury and was limping in pain on the sideline.
Arkansas tied the score at 28 on Green’s 5-yard keeper with 1:18 remaining.
