Ole Miss sat idle on Saturday, but the Rebels still got plenty of help - and a little headache - from around the SEC.
The biggest development for Lane Kiffin’s team was simple enough: three of the Rebels’ remaining conference opponents took losses. That includes Vanderbilt, the next stop on Ole Miss’ schedule, and the Commodores were handled by Georgia in a game that never really flipped once the Bulldogs found their footing.
Vanderbilt entered the weekend at 3-2 overall and 0-2 in SEC play, and that league start got even rougher in Athens. Georgia led just 21-14 at halftime, but the Bulldogs stretched it out from there and rolled to a 38-14 victory, leaving Vanderbilt stuck in the basement of the conference standings. Ole Miss heads to Nashville this week, and on paper it looks like a game the Rebels should win.
Auburn also came up short, falling on the road to Tennessee in a ranked matchup. The Tigers have at least banked one SEC win, but they still haven’t looked like a true threat in the league.
Tennessee’s 24-14 win at Neyland Stadium came with Auburn QB Byrum Brown serving as the team’s leading passer and rusher in the loss. The Rebels will get Auburn at home on Halloween, and Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has made life difficult for visiting teams in recent years.
Mississippi State, meanwhile, took its first loss of the season at home against Alabama. The Bulldogs have looked like a different team with quarterback Kamario Taylor driving the offense, which makes that Thanksgiving weekend matchup in November look far more dangerous than it might have a month ago.
That’s especially true with Ole Miss’ defense still looking suspect. Mississippi State stayed close in the first half, but Alabama eventually pulled away for a 56-23 win.
The result that stands out most for Ole Miss, though, was Missouri’s blowout of Florida. That one matters because Florida had already beaten the Rebels handily in The Swamp two weeks ago, and the Gators’ 45-17 loss to Missouri only makes that Ole Miss defeat sting more. It also raises the temperature on Missouri as a future opponent, since the Tigers suddenly look like much more than a routine conference game.
The Rebels do get Missouri in Oxford in a couple of weeks, and that venue has been unfriendly to opponents in recent seasons. It’s also possible Florida simply walked into a letdown spot after its big win over an at-the-time top-five team in Gainesville. Even so, Missouri has turned into a far more intriguing challenge for Ole Miss than it seemed just weeks ago.
Georgia’s win over Vanderbilt was the least surprising of the bunch, even if it took a while for the Bulldogs to separate themselves. The trip to Ole Miss looms as a major game for both teams’ College Football Playoff hopes, and Georgia looks every bit like a national title contender again after starting October unbeaten. Gunner Stockton threw three touchdown passes in the win, and Bo Walker led the Bulldogs on the ground with 71 yards on five carries.
Ole Miss returns to action this week in Nashville against Vanderbilt. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Suddenly Has A Backfield Question Fans Will Be Watching
Kewan Lacy is expected to be back in the Ole Miss lineup against Vanderbilt after using the bye week to rest and rehab the injured left shoulder that had kept him out. Pete Golding said Lacy was back at practice in a limited capacity, which gives the Rebels a clearer picture of their backfield heading into the next stretch, even after JT Lindsey and Makhi Frazier helped carry the load in his absence.
Lacys return matters because Ole Miss has had to distribute touches differently without him, and the way that rotation settles against Vanderbilt will be worth watching. Lindsey and Frazier have kept the position moving, but getting Lacy back into the mix adds another layer for a team trying to stay balanced and healthy as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Still Has A Shot With This Blue-Chip Oregon Commit
Tae Walden Jr. has already given Oregon an early win on the recruiting trail, but the four-star 2027 athlete is still the kind of prospect worth monitoring for Ole Miss. The Rebels have stayed involved with the two-way standout, who has impressed in high school on both sides of the ball as a receiver and defensive back, and he has already spent time on campus in Oxford.
Waldens commitment gives Oregon a head start in a class that is already drawing attention for its talent at receiver and defensive back, but Ole Miss has not gone away. He is also planning to return later in the season, which keeps the Rebels in the conversation as they look to chip away at a loaded Ducks pledge and see whether the visit brings them any closer. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Defense Faces A Defining Test After Two Weeks Off
Ole Miss spent the bye week trying to clean up the kind of defensive issues that have already shown up in glaring fashion this season, especially the missed tackles that piled up against Florida. The Rebels have leaned heavily on transfers across the defensive depth chart, and the extra time off was supposed to help with the communication and execution problems that have made this group look out of sync at times.
Vanderbilt now offers a timely measuring stick. The opener after two weeks without a game should show whether the Rebels used the break to make real progress or simply rest and reset, because this is the kind of matchup where better fundamentals have to show up quickly. For a defense still searching for answers, the response in this game matters almost as much as the result. [Read more 🡒]