Kewan Lacy and Trinidad Chambliss injuries 'not ideal' for Ole Miss Rebels

At halftime of Ole Miss's first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff, the Rebels held a 17-3 lead over the Tulane Green Wave.

However, even with the lead, the half was far from perfect, and two injuries to critical players dampened the excitement of the first 30 minutes.

During the Rebels' last drive of the half, star running back Kewan Lacy went down with an apparent injury. Then, just a few moments later, star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss went down as well. Just like that, the Ole Miss offense was without the two players who really made everything click.

Pete Golding ready for next-man-up mentality

Head coach Pete Golding, who was quickly hired into the full-time position following Lane Kiffin's departure, obviously wasn't thrilled with the injuries when asked at halftime, but he knew that his team had the depth to keep pushing.

"Obviously not ideal," Golding said at halftime, while sharing that he didn't have an official update on Lacy or Chambliss yet. "You gotta bounce back... next man up."

With Chambliss on the sideline and eventually heading to the locker room a few seconds ahead of his teammates, Austin Simmons entered the game for the Rebels. He completed two passes for 25 yards before fumbling the ball, which was recovered by Tulane to end Ole Miss's drive.

Before exiting with his injury, Lacy had 67 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Chambliss had completed 13 of 16 pass attempts for 167 yards through the air, alongside a four-yard rushing touchdown.

The end of the half was certainly a lowlight, but holding onto the 14-point lead was a highlight for the Rebels as they seemingly lost momentum throughout the second quarter.

While Golding didn't have an update on Lacy or Chambliss' status when he spoke to the network reporter at halftime, he did share that when he went into the locker room, he would receive an update on his star players.