Trinidad Chambliss, the Division II transfer making his first start in Simmons' place, had a bleeding hand, so Simmons entered the game against Arkansas and quickly threw a four-yard touchdown pass. He aggravated his ankle in the process and returned to the sideline. Simmons never started another game for Ole Miss.
Chambliss never let go of the job, becoming one of college football's hottest stories of 2025, throwing for 3,937 yards, finishing eighth in Heisman voting, and leading the Rebels to the College Football Playoff semifinals. "We won the (preseason) competition, but [Chambliss] was hot," David Simmons, Austin's father, told CBS Sports. "You can't move him out when he's hot, right?" Austin Simmons stayed through Ole Miss' historic playoff run, throwing only 19 more passes that season, then entered the transfer portal and emerged at Missouri.
He returns to Oxford on Saturday. No. 13 Missouri (5-1, 2-1 SEC) visits No. 9 Ole Miss (4-1, 2-1) on homecoming weekend, and Simmons brings two more starters from last season's playoff team with him: wide receiver Cayden Lee and cornerback Chris Graves Jr. One might think there's bad blood, but in the end, all parties got what they wanted.
Simmons is leading a resurgent Mizzou program, and Chambliss is back, with the Rebels still in the playoff hunt. "It's not a grudge match or anything like that," David Simmons said this week. Simmons and Chambliss will always be tied together in the sport's lore.
Only one yard separates the two entering Saturday. Simmons has thrown for 1,434 yards and 14 touchdowns with only one interception, while Chambliss has 1,435 yards, 11 TDs and four picks. Simmons has played one more game.
"It's scary to know how good he is and how talented he is," Ole Miss coach Pete Golding said Monday. Perhaps in a parallel world, Simmons leads the Rebels fresh off the school's first playoff appearance last season, not the veteran Chambliss. After the Arkansas cameo in Week 3 last season, Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin said he expected Simmons to return as the starter the next game against Tulane.
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