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The Ole Miss Rebels steamrolled over Vanderbilt 41-3 on Saturday, and the game wasn’t even as close as the score indicates. The Rebels did just about whatever they wanted, especially in the third quarter when they outscored Vandy 21-0 before head coach Hugh Freeze removed the starters from the game.
Let’s grade Ole Miss on its performance against Vanderbilt in the three facets of the game: offense, defense and special teams.
Offense: A+, Defense: A+, Special teams: A+
Let’s not make this any harder than it has to be. Ole Miss dominated every snap of this game, and there’s plenty of evidence to support that claim. The Rebels gained 547 yards of total offense, which was 380 more yards than Vandy could muster. They earned 25 more first downs than Vanderbilt, possessed the ball for 15 minutes longer than Vanderbilt, and kept the Commodores from crossing midfield until late in the third quarter. Still not convinced? Ole Miss held the ‘Dores to just 60 yards through the air, and only one Commodore caught more than one pass for the game (there were only six completions to begin with). The Ole Miss defense required 40 fewer tackles in this game than in its previous game against Boise State, representing an extra 40 plays run by the Broncos that the Commodores’ offense was unable to stay on the field long enough to run. That’s just how little the Commodores were able to move the ball against Ole Miss. The Rebels never punted in this game, but Vanderbilt punted seven times. The proof is in the pudding; the opponent was weak but Ole Miss earns an A+ for an all-around dominating win over Vandy.
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.
