5 biggest takeaways: Wallace, run game show great improvement against Vandy

The Ole Miss Rebels leveled over Vanderbilt in Nashville Saturday afternoon, topping the Commodores 41-3 in the lone SEC matchup of the weekend. The numbers were as one-sided as the score, as seemingly every Rebel on the roster got a chance to see the field by game’s end. Bo Wallace threw for 300 yards for the second week in a row. The Ole Miss defense held its opponent to fewer than 14 points for a second straight week as well, and the Rebels improved to 2-0 on the young season.

Here are five takeaways from Ole Miss’ rout of Vandy:

• Bo Wallace took care of the football. Clearly, the Vanderbilt defense was overmatched, but Wallace didn’t do anything to hurt his own cause either.  He took what the Commodores’ defense gave him, and made the most of it. Once again, the Rebels’ athletes on the offensive side of the ball – Laquon Treadwell, Cody Core, Evan Engram, Jaylen Walton, Quincy Adeboyedjo, etc. – did most of the heavy lifting, but Wallace put those players in a position to make explosive plays. When Wallace made the same adjustment in the second half against Boise, Ole Miss got the same results on the scoreboard. Wallace just needs to play smart football this season to lead this Rebels’ offense to success.
• The run game was better, but it’s still not quite there. Ole Miss was able to rush for 180 yards and three touchdowns as a team, but it also required 50 carries against a defense already exhausted from playing from behind for two straight weeks. Jaylen Walton showed some spectacular moves on his 20-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and I’Tavius Mathers was able to close out a third quarter drive with a two-yard touchdown run, a promising sign for a team whose best short yardage rusher a year ago was its backup quarterback. Speaking of which…
• Jeremy Liggins is a tough dude to tackle, and that’s going to help come SEC play. Liggins is a tight end with a huge frame and impressive strength who can do a little bit of everything. He can line up at quarterback, which he did for a few snaps against Vandy, rushing for nine yards on four carries without attempting a pass. He can also catch the ball like a more traditional tight end, and can block the you know what out of some people as well. He’s big, he’s strong, he knows it and he’s not afraid to throw his weight around. Freeze is going to find a way to use him in the meat of the Rebels’ SEC schedule.
• Ho hum, another dominant performance by the Ole Miss defense. Let’s consider who the opponent was, what that opponent was able to do (or, really, unable to do) on offense against Temple, and understand it was impossible for Ole Miss to lose in this facet of the game. Still, the Rebels’ defense went far beyond the call of duty Saturday afternoon, annihilating the Commodores on just about every down of the game. Vanderbilt managed just 167 yards of total offense for the entire game, 95 of which came from star tailback Ralph Webb, the Commodores’ lone outlier on offense. Quarterback Stephen Rivers completed 6-of-25 passes (24 percent) for just 60 yards and an interception. Vandy managed just three points, and Ole Miss has only allowed 16 in two games this year. This defense is still loaded with talent and as frightening as any unit in the SEC.
• Cody Core’s Week 1 performance was no fluke. Core caught four balls for 110 yards and two touchdowns against Boise State last week, and followed up that performance with a four catch, 85 yard, one touchdown showing against Vandy. Core is one of many capable receivers in the Ole Miss offense, but Wallace seems to like him, and that could mean big things for both players. Teams with more proven secondaries are going to make sure to eliminate Laquon Treadwell as much as possible this season, and whoever establishes himself as Wallace’s No. 2 wideout on the other side of the field is poised to put up big numbers in the SEC. Through two games, Core looks as if he could be that guy.

Related: Rapid reaction from Ole Miss’ victory (with highlights)

Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.