The way Trinidad Chambliss looked at the sideline where Lane Kiffin stood and thumped his chest after the win was the ultimate giveaway on just how personal the 32-24 win over LSU was for him.
Yet, the Ole Miss QB held no punches back when putting it in words.
“It meant more than other games,” Chambliss said post-game. “I’m finally glad we got that one out of the way because emotions were really high for this game.”
Trinidad Chambliss’ Emotions Were Running Wild
The emotions were running high at the Vaught-Hemingway, as Chambliss couldn’t hold back and yelled “Hotty (expletive) Toddy!” on his way off camera from a postgame interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
He later apologised during his post-game conference.
“I got kind of caught up in the moment of the interview. That’s not who I am,” Chambliss said. “So, I deeply, deeply apologize to Holly Rowe and everyone out there that was listening. That’s not who I am, so I’m sorry about that.”
Chambliss meant every word he said, and more about emotions being high. Anyone in attendance could feel it in the air. The band blaring Callin’ Baton Rouge was a nice laugh for the home crowd, and Chambliss enjoyed every bit of fans cheering around him with cheers, but the years he spent with Kiffin and other Ole Miss head coaches who followed him to LSU still seeped their way back into his post-game celebrations.
“It was a little weird seeing him on the other sideline and seeing other coaches,” Chambliss said. “But it is what it is. We’re competitors at the end of the day. It’s just a football game, but I’m glad we got the win.”
Trinidad Chambliss Says Goodbye To Lane Kiffin With Another Dig
Of course, he didn’t let the momentary nostalgia steal away his celebratory thunder.
His social media post, surrounded by his teammates in the locker room with a fat cigar, had a caption that was a direct hit aimed at Kiffin.
“Just different,” Chambliss’s caption read. On paper, it might seem a standard post.
But for a quarterback who held onto Kiffin last season before he left them out to dry right before the playoffs, even the post-win message was personal.
When Kiffin stepped behind the podium for the first time as the LSU head coach, he said that his decision to leave Ole Miss was because LSU was “just different.”
“This place is different. Having watched this place for a long time and from the other sideline. This place is different, and that’s why we’re here,” Kiffin said at his introductory news conference.
Chambliss dominated the first half Saturday night, throwing for 248 yards, including touchdowns to Deuce Alexander and Traylon Ray. The Rebels scored on four consecutive possessions before halftime. But in the second half, they endured three straight empty drives that included an interception.
Chambliss’ final touchdown for the Rebels in the fourth quarter with 6:14 remaining was a 14-yard quarterback keeper. The lone successful scoring drive from Ole Miss in the second half didn’t just stop the bleeding for the Rebels but also proved to be the game-winner.
Chambliss finished 33-of-48 passes for 363 yards, three total touchdowns, and an interception.
Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss Reveals Just How Personal LSU, Lane Kiffin Win Was