Ole Miss Football: Grading Out The Ole Miss/Vandy Game

Offensive Grades

Ole Miss Rebels Football

Of course, we are always going to start with the good news first. Saturday the Ole Miss offense was pretty much lights out. They started off fast and kept a tempo throughout the game which winded a pretty good Vandy defense.

Passing

Shea Patterson continued to impress with his passing and put up typical Shea numbers. Shea was 22 of 35 for 351 yards and 4 TDs.

Patterson continues to lead the SEC after 6 games. So far, Shea is 156 of 237 for 2,143 yards and 17 TDs. We talk a lot about Shea, however we don’t want to ignore the fact he has a great receivers corp to back him up.

SEC leading receiver AJ Brown was looking back to speed as he caught 8 passes for 174 yards and 2 TDs. DaMarkus Lodge who is currently ranked 4th in the SEC in receiving yards had catches for 74 yards and 2 TDs.

It’s obvious the sky is the limit for this talented passing offense. With Shea playing at this level and not making mistakes in the passing portion of the Vandy game gets a great grade. Also Shea looks more comfortable and that means his O-line is doing their job.

Passing Offense Grade, A+

Rushing

The entire game the Ole Miss offense pushed the Vandy defense around and for the first time actually produced great yardage rushing the ball. This is the one area of concern for Ole Miss football until this game. The inability to establish a strong rushing attack will ultimately cost wins in the SEC.

The Vandy game was a great start to seeing more rushing within the Ole Miss offense. Senior Jordan Wilkins was once again the main guy for Longo on the day. Wilkins had 18 carries for 120 yards and a TD. Eric Swinney also ran well with 7 carries for 76 yards. All together Ole Miss backs netted 252 yards on the ground.

With the noticeable improvements in the rushing game the offense deserves a good grade. They aren’t there just yet but they have certainly improved from the past three losses.

Rushing Offense Grade, A-

Total Offense

This offense has the potential to be one of the best in Ole Miss football history. Right now, they appear to be a work in progress when it comes to playing more balanced. However, they are very talented and can see what it takes to play and win or lose in the SEC. The main thing, they are playing fast and getting better with each possession. Putting up 600+ yards on any SEC team means a great grade for the total offense.

Total Offense Grade, A