Trinidad Chambliss authors late go-ahead touchdown march in CFP semi
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Trinidad Chambliss showed, yet again, he has a knack for the biggest moments.
With Ole Miss trailing 24-19 late in the fourth quarter of the Fiesta Bowl on Thursday night, Chambliss was at his best. He led the Rebels down the field, and then he threw the biggest pass of his college career — at least so far.
The drive took exactly 6 plays and covered 75 yards, and Chambliss ended it with a 24-yard touchdown strike to Dae’Quan Wright, who gave Ole Miss the lead back with 3:13 left in a back-and-forth affair with everything on the line.
The touchdown came on a second-and-8 play, and it was the biggest play of Ole Miss’s dream season that just might have a little ways to go still.
Chambliss wasn’t done on that game-winning drive, though that turned out to still not be enough for Ole Miss. He found Caleb Odom for the 2-point conversion to give Ole Miss a 27-24 lead.
Suddenly, the script had flipped again, and Miami was trying to claw back. Chambliss, who replaced Austin Simmons earlier this season and never let go of the steering wheel, found himself in the Heisman Trophy conversation.
That touchdown pass was Chambliss’s only TD throw of the night, but he sure made it count. There was still more work to be done for Ole Miss, of course, and for Chambliss, but his legend grew that much more on a dramatic Thursday night in the desert.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
