OXFORD — Ole Miss football quarterback Trinidad Chambliss wanted all the blame after his team's loss at Texas in Week 8.
According to coach Pete Golding, it's more complicated than that after studying the film.
The Rebels (5-2, 3-2 SEC) lost 34-27 to the Longhorns. Chambliss said he was "terrible" in the game. The loss shrinks the No. 12 Rebels' margin of error to make the CFP ahead of their game against Auburn (4-3, 2-3) on Oct. 31 (11:45 a.m., SEC Network).
Chambliss was 25-for-52 passing for 250 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted three times, which is two more than he's ever thrown in a game for the Rebels since taking over as the starter early in 2025.
Why Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss struggled vs Texas
How did Texas slow Chambliss down? Golding saw much more than Chambliss merely missing passes.
"I think it was a combination of several things," Golding said.
Take the third-and-10 play the Rebels ran from the Texas 41-yard line with 6:30 remaining. Ole Miss trailed by seven and was trying to set up Lucas Carneiro for a field goal.
Tight end Caleb Odom ran a short option route where he could run 5 yards and break left or right, depending on which way his defender shaded him. Chambliss threw the ball to his right, but Odom broke left. It was incomplete, and the subsequent kick from 58 yards was blocked.
"That's a gimme 5-(yard) option route to the boundary to get 5," Golding said. "He saw his defender inside, and Odom breaks inside because he thought he was outside. A lot of them (missed plays) were just not on the same page."
Chambliss' 48.1% completion percentage was the lowest of his Ole Miss career. He'd completed at least 50% of his passes in each of his previous 19 starts.
"A couple of them (incompletions) were on the receivers as well, of not reading the right coverage and breaking at the right depth," Golding said. "Those type of things."
Trinidad Chambliss drops in Heisman Trophy rankings
Chambliss dropped in the Heisman Trophy odds. He entered the week at No. 3 but is now No. 6 in the odds (+3000) on FanDuel.
Ole Miss was held to three points in the first half. After the game, Chambliss spoke like a player whose standard is playing at a Heisman Trophy level.
"Slow start offensively," Chambliss said. "It starts with me. Getting the guys going, getting into a flow. Just doing the little things that we're used to doing in practice and in games early on. We didn't do that to start. Their defenses solid ... very frustrating, and I have to be better starting games."
Golding also credited Texas' defense, and said the issues extended to everyone on the field.
"Some of (the shortcomings) were tipped balls," Golding said. "I thought they did a really good job. I think they had eight knocked-down balls that could have been some explosive plays. And then (Chambliss) was off on a couple ... It was really a combination of all 11 (players)."
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: What Pete Golding saw on film after Trinidad Chambliss said he was 'terrible' vs Texas