Vanderbilt gets another crack at a top-10 foe Saturday, and this one comes with a familiar edge.
The Commodores host No. 9/11 Ole Miss at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville at 2:30 p.m.
CT, giving Vanderbilt its second straight game against an opponent ranked in the AP poll’s top 10. It’s also a matchup with plenty of history behind it: the schools meet for the 99th time since 1894, with Ole Miss holding a 56-40-2 edge in the series.
Vanderbilt has won 29 of its 40 home games against the Rebels, and the Dores are chasing their first victory over Ole Miss since an overtime win in 2018.
There’s also recent precedent for Vanderbilt handling elite teams at home. The Commodores have beaten a No.
1 Alabama team in 2024 and No. 10 LSU in 2025, giving them top-10 home wins in each of the last two seasons.
One of the biggest reasons Vanderbilt has stayed dangerous this fall is Junior Sherrill, who has become a steady problem for defenses. He enters the week with 474 receiving yards, which ranks 14th in FBS and fourth among SEC players.
Against Georgia in Week 5, he caught seven passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, pushing him into a tie for eighth on the school’s all-time receiving touchdowns list with 16, matching Carl Parker’s mark from 1985-87. He also cracked Vanderbilt’s top 10 in career receiving yards, where he now sits 10th with 1,962.
The senior wideout has logged at least three catches and 70 receiving yards in each of his last 10 games, and he was tied for the team lead in touchdown catches while ranking second on the roster in receptions and receiving yards in 2025.
Vanderbilt’s defense has brought plenty of heat, too. The Commodores are averaging 3.25 sacks per game, good for 12th in FBS and fourth in the SEC.
Nick Rinaldi leads the charge with 3.5 sacks, while CJ Heard and Issa Outtara are tied for second on the team with two each. Miles Capers has added five tackles for loss, and Rinaldi is right behind him with 4.5.
Capers’ five TFLs rank 37th nationally and eighth in the SEC.
Heard has been everywhere for Vanderbilt. He leads the team with 39 tackles and two forced fumbles, and his 30 solo stops lead the SEC and rank sixth in FBS.
He has either led the Commodores or shared the team lead in tackles in all five games. In the Delaware win, he posted eight tackles and notched the first multi-sack game of his career with two.
His 82.2 PFF grade this season is the best among Vanderbilt starters on defense. Last season, he finished tied for the team lead with 71 tackles and also added two sacks, five quarterback hurries, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Sedrick Alexander keeps stacking milestones as well. His rushing score against Georgia was the 25th of his career, moving him into sole possession of third place on Vanderbilt’s all-time rushing touchdown list.
It was also his 31st total touchdown, which ranks second in school history. Alexander has now found the end zone on the ground or through the air in six straight regular season games, the longest such run of his career.
He rushed for 11 touchdowns in 2025, the sixth-most by a Commodore in a single season, and added four receiving scores last fall for 90 total points, the fourth-most in a season at Vanderbilt. Over his career, he has 1,724 rushing yards and 618 receiving yards.
He also entered the season with 1,469 snaps, the most of any returning running back at the FBS level.
The linebacker group remains one of Vanderbilt’s most experienced units. Bryan Longwell has been a constant presence, with tackles in 42 straight games - the fourth-longest streak by a Commodore since 2002.
He had 13 tackles twice last fall and recorded at least one tackle for loss in eight of 13 games, while leading the team in tackles last season after doing the same in 2024. Rinaldi, meanwhile, has continued his rise from former walk-on to major defensive piece.
After a 2024 season that included 52 tackles, six tackles for loss and five sacks, he followed with seven tackles behind the line and 3.5 sacks in 2025. His seven tackles for loss ranked fourth on the team, and he was named the 2025 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first Commodore to win the honor since it began in 2003.
Bryce Cowan has also carved out a role in the rotation. He has increased his tackle total in each of the last two seasons, finishing last fall with a career-high 31 stops.
Even with limited snaps behind Longwell and former Commodore Langston Patterson, Cowan tied a school season record by forcing five fumbles last year. In the NC State win, he grabbed his first interception since 2023.
And while the veterans have done plenty of the heavy lifting, Vanderbilt’s younger contributors have made their presence felt on special teams. Sophomore Josiah Broxton returned a punt 27 yards for a touchdown in the Week 1 win over Austin Peay, and sophomore Austin Howard followed that by blocking a punt and recovering it in the end zone in the Week 2 victory over Delaware.
In Other News...
Vanderbilt's Upset Hopes May Hinge On One Critical Injury Decision
Clark Lea gave Vanderbilt a clearer picture of the injury report heading into the Ole Miss game, and the news is mixed for a team trying to pull an upset in a tough SEC spot. Quarterback Jared Curtis is probable to play, which gives the Commodores some stability on offense as they turn their attention to one of the leagues more demanding matchups. Rain is also expected to be part of the equation, adding another layer to a game that already figures to test Vanderbilt in a few different ways.
The bigger concern may be up front, where the line has been dealing with uncertainty and the staff spent the week preparing for wet conditions. Vanderbilt even worked with gatorade bottles spraying footballs to mimic the kind of slick handling the teams could face on Saturday. For a team hoping to stay competitive against Ole Miss, the health of the protection in front of the quarterback could end up mattering just as much as the weather. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Gets A Massive Jared Curtis Boost For Ole Miss
Jared Curtis is lined up to give Vanderbilt a major boost at quarterback for Saturdays meeting with No. 9 Ole Miss, with the five-star freshman expected back under center after sitting out the previous game. Curtis has flashed plenty through his first four outings, and his return gives the Commodores a much different look offensively than they had with veteran Blaze Berlowitz starting in his place last week.
The timing matters, too, because Ole Miss has not been sturdy on defense and Vanderbilt needs every bit of firepower it can find in an SEC matchup like this. Curtis has already taken his share of hits in his young college career, but if he is back on the field as expected, the Commodores will have a chance to test whether his presence can tilt a game that looks far more manageable with him directing the offense. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt's Quarterback Twist Could Be Its Best Hope Vs Ole Miss
Ole Miss is already game-planning for a Vanderbilt offense that could look different snap to snap, with Pete Golding pointing to the contrast between Jared Curtis and Blaze Berlowitz as a real factor ahead of the matchup. Curtis is listed as probable despite a knee bruise, and the Rebels are treating the quarterback situation as more than a simple depth chart question because the attack changes depending on who is taking the snaps.
Golding said he expects to see both quarterbacks in the game, which only adds to the challenge for an Ole Miss defense trying to sort out assignments on the fly. Vanderbilt could even present Berlowitz in another role while Curtis is under center, a wrinkle that would force the Rebels to prepare for multiple looks and keep their eyes on the field a little longer than usual. [Read more 🡒]