Ole Miss will get its next SEC test in Nashville, and now the kickoff details are set.
The Rebels are scheduled to face Vanderbilt on Oct. 10 at FirstBank Stadium, with the game set for 2:30 p.m. CT and carried nationally on SEC Network.
It will be Ole Miss’ first game after its bye week, giving Pete Golding and his staff extra time to sort through the issues that have shown up on the Rebel roster so far this season.
Vanderbilt enters the matchup with a very different kind of momentum than the program has had in recent years. Clark Lea, who took over in 2021, spent his first seasons trying to steady a team that had long searched for consistency in the SEC. That work started to show in 2024, when Vanderbilt reached its first bowl game in six seasons.
Then came a breakthrough 2025 under Lea and Heisman candidate Diego Pavia. The Commodores won 10 games, including six in SEC play, both program records. They also beat four ranked opponents, reached as high as No. 9 in the Associated Press poll, and turned Lea into both SEC Coach of the Year and the FWAA Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year.
That surge has carried into 2026. Vanderbilt is 3-1 through four games, with its only loss coming against Auburn. The early highlight came against NC State, when the Commodores erased a 17-0 deficit and won 35-31 on a last-second end-zone fumble recovery after a CJ Bailey mistake.
For Ole Miss, the bye comes after a rough trip to Gainesville. The Rebels entered the Swamp ranked No. 4 nationally and left with a 52-28 loss to Florida. The problems were obvious: more than 300 rushing yards allowed, little pressure on the quarterback, and no real takeaway production from the defense.
The defensive performance stood out as the most glaring issue in a game where Ole Miss was also without Heisman hopeful Lacy.
Now the Rebels have a week to reset before a brutal stretch ahead, one that includes a trip to No. 1 Texas and a home game against No. 2 Georgia.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Took A National Stage Loss Fans Wont Easily Ignore
Saturdays SEC showcase on ESPN ended up being a mixed bag for the league, but the loss that stung most for Ole Miss came in the kind of spotlight the Rebels do not get to control very often. Floridas win over Ole Miss was part of a high-profile Week 4 slate that also included Texas taking down Tennessee and LSU knocking off Texas A&M, with all three ABC telecasts drawing strong numbers and Texas-Tennessee delivering ESPN networks highest-rated noon kickoff in a decade.
For Ole Miss, the on-field result came with the added frustration of seeing another conference opponent seize the national conversation. The Rebels were already in the middle of a crowded Week 4 window that produced plenty of attention for the SEC, and now they have to sit with a result that landed in front of a big audience. Week 5 brings another round of league-heavy television inventory, including Alabama at Mississippi State, Tennessee against Auburn, Missouri at Florida, and Clemson hosting Miami in primetime, but Ole Miss will have to wait for its next chance to turn a national stage into something more memorable. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Offense Has One Urgent Fix Coming Out Of The Bye
After a blowout loss to Florida, Ole Miss has spent the bye week doing what every team hopes a midseason pause will allow: taking a hard look at what went wrong and resetting before the next stretch of games. For the Rebels, the biggest concern on offense has been getting out of the gate cleaner and finding better rhythm up front, where the line has been pushed to tighten its cohesion and set a stronger tone early.
Senior right guard Patrick Kutas said the loss should stay with the team as motivation, not something to shrug off once the schedule resumes. For Ole Miss, the challenge now is turning that frustration into sharper starts and steadier execution, because the bye only matters if the problems it exposed lead to real improvement when the Rebels line up again. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Has A New National QB Talking Point Fans Will Love
Bill Connellys latest quarterback rankings gave the SEC plenty of room to boast, with five league passers landing in the top 12 and a broader national conversation that will catch Ole Miss fans attention. ESPNs analyst put Miamis Darian Mensah at the top of the Power 4 group, but the Southeastern footprint in the list was hard to miss, especially with names like Trinidad Chambliss, Kamario Taylor, Keelon Russell, Gunner Stockton and Aaron Philo all drawing notice.
For Rebels followers, the most interesting part is the way the leagues quarterback discussion is shifting around young talent and fast-rising production. Kamario Taylors jump was singled out as a major improvement, and with Alabama and Mississippi State set to meet soon, the SECs quarterback hierarchy is likely to keep getting shuffled in real time. Ole Miss may not be the center of this particular ranking, but it is exactly the kind of national QB chatter that tends to matter in Oxford. [Read more 🡒]