Ole Miss heads back to Nashville on Saturday with a chance to shake off the aftertaste of its first loss of the season and get back in the win column against Vanderbilt at FirstBank Stadium.
The Rebels are 9.5-point road favorites for the 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff on ESPN, and the setup points to a game Ole Miss should control if it plays to its talent. The challenge is that the weather could muddy things up, and that matters here because Vanderbilt would seem better equipped to turn this into a slower, more grind-it-out kind of game.
That said, Ole Miss still brings the more complete roster into Week 6. Vanderbilt does have a defense that has been more of a weapon than Ole Miss’ unit, but the Commodores’ offense is one of the SEC’s worst on the ground, and they’ll be leaning on a talented true freshman quarterback in less-than-ideal conditions. That combination makes it hard to see Vanderbilt doing enough to offset what the Rebels can do on offense.
The key battle should come down to the run game on both sides. Ole Miss has not been trustworthy defensively, especially against the run, but this is the kind of conference road game where the bye week could matter. Pete Golding and the Rebels had two weeks to sort through the issues, and while a full fix feels like a stretch, there’s reason to think the defense can at least show progress.
Offensively, the return of Kewan Lacy gives Ole Miss another layer. Even if he’s not at full strength, he should help balance the attack alongside Trinidad Chambliss, whose mobility adds another problem for Vanderbilt to solve. The Rebels’ stable of backs, paired with Chambliss’ ability to make plays with his legs, gives Ole Miss the edge in a game that could get decided on the ground.
If Ole Miss gets off to the fast start it expects, it should be able to settle in and manage the game from there. The passing attack may not be as sharp if the weather has its say, but the offense still has enough firepower to look like its best version of the season. And on the other side, the defense should show at least flashes of the high-level play Ole Miss has been waiting to see.
After the loss to Florida and the reset of the bye week, the expectation is that the Rebels respond with a comfortable road win. Trinidad Chambliss should keep building on his strong start, and Ole Miss looks positioned to leave Nashville with its fourth victory of the season and its second in the Music City.
In Other News...
Eli Manning Just Picked Family Over Ole Miss Loyalty
Eli Manning is already taking a stance on one of Ole Miss biggest upcoming games, and it comes with a family-first caveat. On the Pardon My Take podcast, the former Rebels star said hell be pulling for Texas when the Longhorns face his alma mater on Oct. 24, with nephew Arch Manning leading the way at quarterback.
For Ole Miss fans, its a familiar kind of twist from the Manning family tree, and Eli made clear this is the exception rather than the rule. He said he supports the Rebels in every other game, while his brother Peyton has taken a similar line by siding with Texas over his own alma mater as well. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Has A Finishing Problem It Must Fix At Vanderbilt
Ole Miss has spent the last couple of weeks sitting on a familiar question: how does a team that builds multi-score leads keep from turning clean wins into tense finishes? The Rebels had to lean on late-game offense to get past Louisville and LSU, and those scares have made the downtime before Vanderbilt feel less like a breather and more like a chance to sort out a nagging issue.
Vanderbilt offers the next test of whether the Rebels can close the door against an SEC opponent without inviting drama. For Ole Miss, the bigger concern is not just getting ahead, but protecting the edge with sharper execution when the game tightens and the final minutes arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Faces A Different Vanderbilt Test In Nashville
Ole Miss heads to Nashville for a matchup that looks different from the recent meetings in this series, and not just because it is on the road. Vanderbilt is expected to have quarterback Jared Curtis back from injury, while Kewan Lacy also figures into the lineup again, giving the Commodores a healthier look as they try to challenge a Rebels team that has handled the series well of late. For Ole Miss, the trip offers another chance to keep that run going while dealing with a Vanderbilt team that appears more capable of making it a real game.
The key for the Rebels will be sorting through a different kind of test on both sides of the ball, with the Commodores likely to lean on their returning pieces and force Ole Miss to be sharp defensively. Vanderbilt's available playmakers change the feel of the game plan, and the Rebels will have to decide how much pressure to bring while still protecting against the kind of plays that can swing momentum. In a matchup that has usually tilted one way recently, this one has enough moving parts to make the early stages worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]