OXFORD, Miss. (Interstat) — On a crisp December Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the Ole Miss Rebels delivered a commanding performance, overwhelming the Tulane Green Wave 41-10 in a non-conference clash before a crowd of 68,251.

The game, a rematch of a September contest won by Ole Miss 45-10, followed a similar script as the Rebels used a potent offensive attack and a stifling defensive effort to improve their season record to 12 wins and 1 loss. Tulane, which entered on a five-game winning streak, fell to 11 wins and 3 losses.

The most important part of the game unfolded in the opening quarter, where Ole Miss established immediate and total control. After forcing a quick punt on Tulane’s first possession, Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss engineered a breathtakingly efficient scoring drive. The sophomore from Grand Rapids, Michigan, connected with De’Zhaun Stribling for a 30-yard gain and then hit tight end Dae’Quan Wright for 25 more. Two plays later, running back Kewan Lacy burst through the middle for a 20-yard touchdown, capping a four-play, 80-yard march that took just 58 seconds off the clock.

Tulane responded with a promising 13-play drive deep into Ole Miss territory, but the Rebels’ defense delivered a critical stand. On a first-down pass from the Ole Miss 23, Chambliss’s counterpart, Tulane’s Jake Retzlaff, was pressured by defensive lineman Princewill Umanmielen. His throw was intercepted in the end zone by defensive back Jaylon Braxton, who returned it to the 25-yard line. The turnover proved devastating. Chambliss needed only five plays to capitalize, finishing the drive himself with a 4-yard touchdown run to give Ole Miss a 14-0 lead. The sequence—a touchdown, a defensive stop via turnover, and another rapid touchdown—effectively decided the contest before the first quarter was even half over.

From there, Ole Miss methodically extended its advantage. Lucas Carneiro added a 42-yard field goal in the second quarter for a 17-0 lead before Tulane finally got on the board with a 39-yard field goal from Palmer Durkin just over a minute into the period, making it 17-3 at halftime.

Any hope of a Tulane comeback was extinguished early in the second half. The Rebels received the kickoff and embarked on a 10-play, 80-yard drive, culminating in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Chambliss to Stribling. After a Tulane three-and-out, Ole Miss drove again, settling for a 48-yard Carneiro field goal to push the lead to 27-3. The Rebels’ defense then forced the game’s second turnover early in the fourth quarter, as linebacker Suntarine Perkins stripped Retzlaff and defensive back Kapena Gushiken recovered. Four plays later, running back Logan Diggs plunged in from 3 yards out for a 34-3 lead.

Chambliss, the game’s top star, added one more exclamation point with an 8-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. He finished an efficient afternoon completing 23 of 29 passes for 282 yards and one touchdown while adding 36 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. His favorite targets were Deuce Alexander, who caught seven passes for 87 yards, and Stribling, who had five receptions for 79 yards and a score. Lacy was the workhorse in the backfield, rushing for 87 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

The Ole Miss defense was relentless, harassing Retzlaff all afternoon. Umanmielen was a constant disruptive force, recording 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries. Perkins had two hurries and a forced fumble. The unit held Tulane to just 10 points, well below the Green Wave’s season average.

Tulane’s offense, which had averaged over 30 points per game during its winning streak, never found a consistent rhythm. Retzlaff, from Corona, California, completed 20 of 35 passes for 306 yards and a late 29-yard touchdown to tight end Justyn Reid against prevent defense, but he was sacked three times, intercepted once, and lost two fumbles. The Green Wave’s rushing attack was held in check, and several promising first-half drives stalled in Ole Miss territory.

The victory capped a dominant regular season for Ole Miss, whose only loss came on the road to Georgia. Tulane, despite the defeat, concluded one of its most successful campaigns in recent years. The Rebels’ early explosion, however, ensured that this late-season meeting would mirror their September encounter, a one-sided affair defined by Ole Miss’s superior execution on both sides of the ball from the opening whistle.