Ole Miss defense stifles Commodores in 33-7 win

Ole Miss were expected to win yesterday evening, against a Vanderbilt side who were on a 6 game losing streak. The Rebels dominated early, playing full throttle football in the first off, before easing off in a 33-7 win over the Commodores.

In a game, that head coach Lane Kiffin called a “trap game”, Ole Miss put on a professional performance, especially in the first half. The Rebels scored 26 unanswered points and smothered the Vanderbilt offense to just 58 yards.

The defense has vastly improved over the last two games and they continued that trajectory, with the Commodores having just 229 total offensive yards. 97 of them came from back-up QB Walter Taylor, who replaced Ken Seals in the second half.

Seals was constantly put under pressure by an energetic and hungry defensive front. It started on the first drive, after Jared Ivey had sacked him on the 2nd play, Trey Washington picked off Seals after a great tip play from Zamari Walton.

That was the first of two interceptions from Washington, the second coming off a pass from Walter Taylor in the 3rd quarter.

The Rebels were already up 7-0 at this point, with Quinshon Judkins scampering in on a 18 yard rushing TD. It was tagged onto the end of a 75 yard opening drive from Ole Miss, with Judkins and wide receiver Dayton Wade making big plays.

A couple of field goals were added by kicker Caden Davis. One off the first interception from Washington, with the Rebels unable to capitalize fully off the turnover.

Ole Miss marched down the field to grab their second touchdown of the game early in the 2nd quarter. Jaxson Dart rushed in from the 1 yard line to make it 20-0. The Rebels added their 3rd touchdown of the first half thanks to wide receiver Dayton Wade on a 6 yard TD throw from Dart.

Wade led the team in receiving yards on the day, notching 120 yards from 8 catches on top of his 1 TD. Despite that, the passing game wasn’t its fluent self and will need to improve against Texas A&M in week 10.

The second half was very placid, with the damage being done in the first two quarters. However, Kiffin would have wanted to see more from the offense, despite killing the game early.

The defense still played well, with two sack on QB Walter Payton, giving them a total of 5 sacks on the day. Jared Ivey had half of those and is becoming a real problem for opposing offensive lines.

Vanderbilt scored their only points late in the 3rd quarter on a 10 play 65 yard drive. The only real negative from the defense came on that drive. After putting the Commodores offense into 3rd and goal at the Ole Miss 8 yard line, a holding call on Ladarius Tennison gave them a fresh set of downs. They punched it in on the second attempt to get the score.

As mentioned, it was a small knock on another excellent defensive display from Pete Golding’s defense.

The Rebels had the final score of the game, Judkins again rushing in for his 2nd touchdown of the game. The sophomore running back had another 100 yard rushing game, his 3rd in the last 4 games.

All in all it was a satisfactory performance from the Rebels. Kiffin did mention in his press conference he was disappointed with the passing game. Something that will surely be worked on before another home game in week 10 against Texas A&M.