After a week off that left Ole Miss unbeaten in all the ways that matter most to the calendar, the Rebels are back Saturday at Vanderbilt in a 2:30 kickoff in Nashville. It’s the first Ole Miss-Vanderbilt game since 2023, the last meeting in a series that had been played every year since 1970.
That gap matters in its own odd way. From 1999 through 2011, the Rebels and Commodores met 10 times, including seven straight seasons from 1999 to 2005.
And while some Ole Miss fans may still treat Nashville like a place of pain, the numbers don’t really support the idea that Vanderbilt has been a nightmare trip. The Commodores beat Ole Miss twice there from 2013 through 2023, and those were their only wins in the series during that stretch.
The last Rebels loss in the matchup came in 2018, a 39-36 overtime defeat under Matt Luke. Before that, Ole Miss lost in 2016 during the collapse of the Hugh Freeze era.
But the bigger story this week is what the 2026 Rebels look like after four games, and how closely they still resemble last year’s team. Using TeamRankings numbers from FBS vs. FBS games, the offensive profile is mostly familiar, even if the Florida game made the whole thing feel more chaotic than it should have.
On the whole, Ole Miss has stayed in the same neighborhood on offense. The Rebels are averaging 6.4 yards per play this season after posting 6.6 last year.
Their third-down rate is nearly unchanged, moving from 42.08 percent to 43.48 percent. The fourth-down number is the one that really stands out: Ole Miss was 71.43 percent in 2025 and is down to 60.0 percent this year.
Scoring efficiency has held up too. Ole Miss is at 0.518 points per play, up from 0.491 a year ago.
The red-zone numbers are even better, with the Rebels converting 100 percent of their trips into points after finishing at 85.71 percent last season. They’re also scoring 4.3 offensive touchdowns per game, compared with 4.1 in 2025.
The run game is where the biggest shift shows up. Ole Miss is down to 4.0 yards per rush attempt after sitting at 4.7 a year ago.
That drop lines up with the absence of Kewan Lacy, who has been available for about 75 minutes of a possible 180 in the games that have mattered most - Louisville, LSU, and Florida. His last touch against Louisville came with 6:34 left in the third quarter, and that play also took out right tackle Tommy Kinsler IV.
Against LSU, Lacy’s last carry came with 8:43 left in the third quarter.
Lacy’s value is simple and brutal: he keeps the offense out of trouble by avoiding negative runs. He’s the kind of back who prevents second-and-10 and third-and-7 from becoming a weekly routine. That was a huge part of what Ole Miss had in 2025, and it’s exactly what the Rebels need again now.
Through the air, the numbers are still strong even with a slight dip. Ole Miss is averaging 8.4 yards per pass attempt this year after posting 8.9 last season.
The sack rate is actually a little better, falling from 3.05 percent to 2.55 percent. Trinidad Chambliss continues to do what he does best: he doesn’t take sacks.
That was one of the things Lane Kiffin liked when the staff watched his Ferris State tape, and it’s still showing up now.
Defense is where the comparison gets less flattering. Ole Miss is allowing 5.8 yards per play after giving up 5.3 a year ago. The third-down defense has slipped from 38.02 percent to 43.86 percent, and the fourth-down defense has moved from 39.39 percent to 50.0 percent.
Before the Florida game, those numbers weren’t quite as ugly. The Rebels were at 5.5 yards allowed per play and just over 40 percent on third downs. Then Florida happened, and nearly six yards per carry on the ground did plenty of damage.
The scoring defense tells the same story. Ole Miss is allowing 0.438 points per play this year after giving up 0.324 last season.
The red-zone scoring percentage has stayed at 87.50 percent, though the ranking has improved from 102nd to 75th. Opponents are scoring 3.5 offensive touchdowns per game, up from 2.6 in 2025.
Explosive plays have been the real problem. Louisville hit Ole Miss through the air, and Florida kept pounding away on the ground.
Whether the issue is communication, tackling, or bad angles and leverage, the Rebels have to stop handing out huge chunks of yardage. Force opponents to work longer drives, and those defensive numbers should settle down.
The run defense has dipped from 4.4 yards per rush attempt allowed to 4.6. The passing defense has fallen from 6.6 yards per attempt allowed to 7.9, and the sack percentage has dropped from 6.44 percent to 5.31 percent.
Some of that is tied directly to the Louisville game, when Ole Miss allowed six explosive pass plays of 20 yards or more. That’s the kind of stat that tells its own story. The encouraging part is that the Rebels appeared to clean some of that up afterward, giving up only two explosive passes against LSU and three against Florida.
Still, the pass rush remains an issue. Ole Miss isn’t getting enough pressure from the front four, or front three, and when extra rushers come, they’re not getting home often enough.
The broad view is pretty clear: before Florida, this defense looked capable of matching last year’s version, which wasn’t dominant but was good enough to win. The real question now is whether the Florida game was a one-off or a preview.
In Other News...
Lane Kiffin Is Building An LSU Threat Ole Miss Can't Ignore
The first half of Lane Kiffins opening season at LSU has already given Ole Miss plenty to keep an eye on, even with the Rebels handing the Tigers an early loss. Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt pointed to the defense as a reason for optimism, suggesting LSU has enough on that side of the ball to stay in the SEC race as the schedule intensifies.
From an Ole Miss perspective, the uneasy part is what comes next. LSU has not yet reached the toughest stretch of its slate, which means the Tigers still have a chance to show whether that early buzz is real or just September noise, and the next few weeks should go a long way toward answering whether Kiffin has built something the Rebels will have to chase all season. [Read more 🡒]
Jared Curtis Is Back In The SEC Spotlight Georgia Never Lost Sight Of
Jared Curtis is expected to be back under center for Vanderbilt when it lines up against Ole Miss, according to CBS Sports insider Matt Zenitz, and that instantly gives this matchup a different feel. Curtis had missed the previous game because of an undisclosed injury, but he has been the Commodores starter through the first four games of the season, giving the offense a steadier face and a player with enough dual-threat ability to matter in more ways than one.
Through those first four appearances, Curtis has thrown for 746 yards with four touchdown passes and three interceptions, while also adding 133 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. For Ole Miss, the news matters because a healthier Curtis changes the way Vanderbilt can structure its offense, and it puts one more layer of uncertainty on a conference game that was already going to test the Rebels preparation. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fans Already Have One Big Adidas Uniform Concern
Ole Miss is moving into a new apparel era, but the school is trying to calm the sort of concern that always follows a brand switch. The Rebels announced a seven-year partnership with adidas that will make the company the official footwear, uniform, apparel and sideline partner, while both sides have stressed a commitment to keeping the programs traditional colors and familiar look intact even as new designs are introduced.
For fans, the uneasiness is easy to understand. Any change like this brings questions about what will stay the same and what might look different once the new deal takes hold, especially for a program with such a recognizable identity. Ole Miss and adidas are already talking about preserving that visual tradition, but the real test will come when the uniforms start showing up on the field. [Read more 🡒]