Game Recap: Ole Miss Dominates Vanderbilt, 41-3

NASHVILLE, TN – The Ole Miss Rebels came into Nashville ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll, a win over Boise State, and all the momentum behind them. They showed that momentum to the fullest on Saturday, as they completely dominated the Vanderbilt Commodores, from start-to-finish.

Ole Miss got off to an early first quarter lead when junior running back Jaylen Walton ran for a 20-yard touchdown. An Andrew Fletcher point after attempt that was good, gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead in less than the first five minutes of the game. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Fletcher would connect a 31-yard field goal late in the first quarter, and a 25-yard field goal in the second quarter to give Ole Miss a 13-0 lead. Ole Miss junior wide receiver, Cody Core (who won the OleHottyToddy.com Player of the Week award last week) would pick up his third touchdown of the season late in the second quarter from a 20-yard pass from Bo Wallace. Ole Miss would go into halftime with a 20-0 lead over Vanderbilt.

During Vanderbilt’s opening drive of the second half, the Comodores’ senior quarterback Stephen Rivers threw an interception to Ole Miss’ senior defensive back Cliff Coleman, which resulted in a pick six. It was the Rebels’ first defensive touchdown and fifth interception of the season.’

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The Rebels’ next offensive drive would be very successful. In a drive that took 10 plays for 79 yards, Ole Miss’ junior running back I’Tavius Mathers ended the drive with a goal line rushing touchdown. After Andrew Fletcher’s extra point, Ole Miss led 34-0 over Vanderbilt. A couple of drives later, Ole Miss’ redshirt freshman quarterback DeVante Kincade scored his first collegiate touchdown on a goal line breakthrough. Ole Miss then lead 41-0 through the 3rd quarter.

Vanderbilt offense would struggle the entire game. It was so bad that the Commodores didn’t cross the fifty yardline into Ole Miss territory until the fourth quarter. On Ole Miss’ goal line, Vanderbilt threatened to score after going for it on 4th down, but failed to execute after an incomplete pass, resulting in a turnerover on downs. Ole Miss would fumble on their next offensive drive on their own 25-yard line, which gave the Comodores another opportunity to score. Vanderbilt would reach Ole Miss’ goal line again, but the Rebel defense once again prevented a touchdown score. However, Derek Mason made the decision to try for a short field goal attempt, that was about the length of an extra point. It was successful and Vanderbilt picked up their first offensive scoring drive of the season.

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Ole Miss managed the clock for the remander of the game. The Rebels beat the Commodores by a final score of 41-3. With the win, Ole Miss improves 2-0, 1-0 in the SEC. The Rebels are now tied with Texas A&M and Auburn for first place in the SEC West. The Rebels will be looking for another chance to move up in the polls after their first conference win of the season.

Bo Wallace had an amazing performance that resulted in just a little over two quarters of play. Wallace silenced the critcs by throwing an interception-free game. Wallace finished with 23 completinons on 30 passes, 320 total passing yards, and one touchdown pass.

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During the second half, Ole Miss’ rising freshman quarterbacks DeVante Kincade and Ryan Buchanan received some quality playing time. Kincade was 1-for-1 with a total of 9 passing yards, and added a rushing touchdown (his first collegiate TD). Buchanan received the most down-field playing time, finishing 4-for-7 with a total of 38 passing yards.

Ole Miss’ run game made huge improvements from last week. The Rebels’ racked up 180 rushing yards, helping the offense to produce 547 total yards. Jaylen Walton led the squad with 8 carries for 35-yards, and picked up his first rushing touchdown of the season. I’Tavius Mathers also added a rushing touchdown. Mathers also added 20 yards of rushing on six carries. Jordan Wilkins and Eugene Brazley also had impressive performances.

Once again, the wide receivers proved they were the core of the Ole Miss offense. It was exciting for Rebel fans to see Evan Engram back to his old form, after a regular season ending injury last year. The sophomore tight end, led the team in receiving with seven catches for 112 yards. His longest was 31-yards. Cody Core had another fantastic game, finishing with four receptions for 85 yards and also recieved his third touchdown catch of the season. Quincy Adeboyejo had some good plays, ending with 57 receiving yards. Laquon Treadwell was quiet for much of the game. The sophomore superstar finished with four receptions for 31-yards.

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Last week, Will Glesson won the National Punter of the Week award, but did not see any action this week. Not once did the Rebels get into a situation where they were forced to punt.

The Ole Miss defense may have been quiet in numbers, but brought in another stellar performance in the win over Vanderbilt. Serderius Bryant led the Landsharks with four total tackles and one of those resulting in a loss of yardage. Denzel Nkemdiche made his 2014 season debut with three total tackles, matching little brother’s numbers. However, Robert Nkemdiche recorded his first sack of the season that resulted in a 13-yard loss. Cody Prewitt and Tony Conner (who were the stars on defense last week) were quiet in this game. Both combined a total of two tackles, but still played their roles to the fullest. The Rebel defense held the Commordes to a total of 167 yards on offense, and only allowing one Commodore drive to cross the 50-yard line. That is domination.

Rebel Nation will now get ready for the Ole Miss Rebels to have their home opener next weekend against Louisiana-Lafeyette. Ole Miss will come home to face the Cajuns with a 2-0 record, and possibly a higher ranking in the national polls. Game time for next Saturday’s game is still to be announced.

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