Trinidad Chambliss has undoubtedly established himself as the best quarterback in the best conference in college football. Whilst playing a challenging schedule to begin the season, marked most notably by a road trip to Gainesville during the Florida Gators' temporary rise to No.8 after defeating the Rebels, Chambliss has executed at a high level despite the immense strength of schedule that comes with playing in the SEC.
Returning to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium tomorrow, Chambliss will have his work cut out for him in a whole new way. This Missouri defensive front is menacing in a way that LSU, Florida and Vanderbilt could never have dreamed of.
Whenever the Rebels need a strike of mastery, Chambliss can turn nothing into something. In his toughest defensive test yet this year, what will he have to offer the Rebel faithful?
Tale of the Tigers' Defensive Tape
It takes very little effort to research what makes this Missouri defense worth fearing.
Blake Purchase made great strides for the Rebels' pass rush last week, notching two sacks to grow his lead for the unit to 3.5 on the year.
Missouri's Daeden Hopkins recorded 3.5 on the road against a ranked Mississippi State with one of the nation's most elusive quarterbacks, Kamario Taylor. While Hopkins' seven sacks this year are a harrowing sign for a question-riddled Rebel offensive line, a quick glance at the stat list shows that there is much more to worry about.
Tiger defensive tackle Donta Simpson has already reached five sacks this year. That number is jarring without context, but with it, Ole Miss defensive tackles have combined for just half a sack this campaign, thanks to Will Echoles, a player surrounded by buzz, with projections as high as a top-ten pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
A Magician Never Shares His Secrets
Trinidad Chambliss' magnificent, if not incredibly ballsy, piece of improvisation against Georgia marked the moment he became a national figure. Beginning at his own 28, Chambliss sprinted away from the Bulldogs' pass rush all the way back to the Rebels' one-yard line, before turning back and unleashing a wobbly yet accurate ball to Kewan Lacy, who ended up on the receiving end of what had to be the longest eight-yard gain in Ole Miss history.
Deemed the "potential play of the playoffs" and earning comparisons to Harry Houdini from ESPN, Trinidad Chambliss led the Rebels past Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, atoning for what many considered the SEC game of the year, in which the Rebels fell short in Athens.
Too often in the ever-changing modern game, quarterbacks rely on one singular talent. Chambliss is the rare exception, excelling both on the ground and through the air. It is nearly impossible to phase Chambliss, and the Tigers' impressive front seven will need to prove whether they are really what the books say they are.
Football is a sport played on grass, not one played on paper. When Trinidad Chambliss leads his men onto the Vaught playing surface, expect his Looney Tunes-esque escapism to leave this Tiger front wishing the game were translated to loose-leaf.
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