All of the Rebels’ march toward a national championship is sponsored by Visiting Angels of Northeast Mississippi, located at 334 North Spring Street, Tupelo, Miss. Contact them today at 662-432-1900.
Ole Miss (13-1) faces the Miami Hurricanes (12-2) tonight at 6:30 p.m. CTin the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl National College Football Playoffs semifinals from Glendale, Az. Kickoff is slated for 6:47 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
KEYS TO THE GAME
Stop the Miami run…
That chore falls mostly on the shoulders of defensive tackle Will Echoles and linemate Zxavian Harris. Echoles, a native of Houston, Miss., earned defensive MVP honors after an outstanding game versus the Georgia Bulldogs in the AllState Sugar Bowl quarterfinal round. Harris, who is from Canton, Miss., is a space-eater in the middle of the Ole Miss defensive line as he measures in at a whopping 6-foot-8 and 330 pounds.
Miami will counter with perhaps the ACC’s best offensive line and a weapon at running back in Mark Flecther, who has averaged more than four yards per carry versus AP Top25 opponents behind the Hurricane big men.
Trinidad’s Magic
The unlikely hero of the Rebels’ run to the national semifinals is quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. Rated as the 60th best quarterback in last year’s transfer portal, Ole Miss didn’t have to fend off hardly anyone for his services from tiny Division II school Ferris State. Chambliss ascended to the top spot for the Rebels and has since thrown for a whopping 3,360 yards and 21 touchdowns. Showing his high football IQ, he has been charged with just three interceptions on the season.
But it is legs that make him so special. He is twitchy and quick and can make something out of broken plays.
Kewan Lacy
Run the ball…
That’s right. It’s on the Rebels’ offensive line and running back Kewan Lacy to get it done. If Ole Miss can run the ball effectively, it should do a great job of slowing down the pass rush of Miami edge Ruben Bain Jr.