No. 9 Ole Miss Football bounced back in Week 6 with a 52-17 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville. The Rebels scored 42 points in the first half, the most points in a single game by Ole Miss all season. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the offense put up 409 yards of offense, while the Rebel defense allowed 343 yards.
First half
Chambliss started the game with two incompletions. A pass to tight end Caleb Odom nearly picked up the first down, but he was just short, leading to a Rebel three-and-out.
The Ole Miss defense forced a three-and-out on its first attempt, getting the ball back to Chambliss.
Chambliss found wide receivers Horatio Fields and Deuce Alexander on back-to-back plays for a combined 39 yards to get the Rebels past midfield. Running back Kewan Lacy, in his first game since Week 3 due to injury, ran up the middle for 19 yards. Chambliss got Ole Miss on the board with a rushing touchdown. The drive took just five plays and lasted less than two minutes.
Head coach Pete Golding spoke about Lacy in his postgame press conference.
“We got him (Lacy) through practice this week, and it was going to be a game time decision based on how he felt coming out of pregame anyway, and he came out (and) said coach, ‘I’m good. I’m ready to go.’ (Lacy) gives us a different spark,” Golding said.
Notably, Rebel kicker Lucas Carneiro did not do kickoffs against Vanderbilt. Carneiro still did point after attempts and field goals, while Peter McStravick handled kickoffs.
Safety Sharif Denson nearly sacked Vanderbilt freshman quarterback Jared Curtis, but Curtis got the throw off for a 15-yard gain. Nickelback Edwin Joseph had Vanderbilt wide receiver Ja’Cory Thomas covered well until Curtis made a perfect throw for a 34-yard pickup.
Busted Rebel coverage in the middle of the field put the Commodores at the 6-yard line. After a 4-yard gain, the Commodores were flagged for a personal foul, bringing them to second-and-17.
Edge rusher Suntarine Perkins went unblocked around the outside and sacked Curtis. Vanderbilt kicked a 45-yard field goal to cap off the drive, 7-3.
Unlike Week 4, when Ole Miss could not get to the quarterback, they were putting pressure on Vanderbilt’s first-year QB and had limited the Commodores to -3 rushing yards through two drives.
Chambliss and the Rebels were going high-tempo and quickly moving down the field. A questionable pass interference call on Vanderbilt put Ole Miss at the 2-yard line. Lacy punched it in to make it 14-7.
The Rebel offensive line was holding up well, giving Chambliss plenty of time to scan the field for a target. The run game was efficient with 8.6 yards per carry through three drives.
Vanderbilt ran for 9-yards to open the drive, then a bobbled snap pushed them to third-and-4. The Rebels could not get off the field, allowing a 5-yard pass for the first down.
Edge rusher Blake Purchase put the Commodores behind the chains with a 3-yard tackle for loss. Defensive end Jonathan Maldonado shed a block and tackled a checkdown for no gain. The defensive line put significant pressure on Curtis, leading to an incomplete pass and a punt.
A penalty forced the Rebels to second-and-15, but Chambliss threw a dart to Cook for a 13-yard gain, setting Ole Miss up with third-and-2. Both lines looked like they were preparing for a draw, but tight end Luke Hasz ran a bootleg and caught a pass for the first down.
Chambliss nearly got picked off on a designed quick throw, a play the Rebels use often. This time the intended target was a few feet from where Chambliss thought he was, nearly leading to a potential pick-six.
Running back Makhi Frazier exploded for 16 yards before rattling off a 9-yard run to get in the red zone. A few inefficient plays put the Rebels at third-and-9. They could not convert and were about to set up the field goal try before Vanderbilt was flagged for a personal foul, giving the Rebels a fresh set of downs.
Nose tackle Jamarious Brown caught a 2-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-3. The throw was a little high, so Brown had to make an athletic play to come down with the catch. He was on the field for the jumbo package, which indicates a run, but he scored six instead.
“I haven’t really been asking for them to run it, but they (the coaching staff) just told me whenever my time comes, just be ready,” Brown said in a postgame press conference.
Ole Miss got Vanderbilt to third-and-13, but a quick pass on a cross route gave the home team a first down. Defensive end Kam Franklin forced third-and-6. Once again, the Commodores threw for the first.
Cornerback Antonio Kite ended the Vanderbilt drive with an interception on a tipped pass, giving the ball back to the offense at the 46-yard line.
On second-and-17, after a 10-yard holding penalty, Chambliss had wide receiver Samari Reed open in the middle of the field, but hesitated and missed his target. On third-and-17, Chambliss found wide receiver Caleb Cunningham for a 22-yard completion. Alexander finished the drive with a 39-yard score, 27-3.
Vanderbilt ran for 37 yards, most of those yards coming after contact, to open the next drive. Kite nearly had a second interception. Instead, the Commodores picked up 17-yards. Perkins almost had another sack, but Curtis made a move to avoid the loss.
Ole Miss held Vanderbilt to fourth-and-4. The home team elected to go for it. Purchase came up with the sack to end the Commodore drive on downs.
The Rebels could not do anything on the ensuing possession and punted the ball away with just over a minute and a half left in the first half.
Purchase sacked Curtis on Vanderbilt’s 4-yard line and forced a fumble. Perkins picked the ball up and scored a touchdown, 35-3. On the kickoff, Mark Trigg Jr. forced a fumble and Ole Miss recovered it in the red zone. Tight end Michael Smith caught a touchdown pass for his first score of the season, 42-3.
Second half
The Commodores threw for 25 yards on the second play of the second half. They utilized the jet motion sweep on several occasions to open the half. Vanderbilt meticulously picked up a few yards at a time and worked down the field.
On third-and-6, Curtis threw a dime for Vanderbilt’s first touchdown. Joseph was in coverage and, despite getting a pass interference call, could not break the pass up.
The Rebels could not get much going on their offensive first drive of the second half. On third-and-10, Chambliss threw to Fields who tipped the ball up, leading to an interception. Vanderbilt got the ball at the 37-yard line.
Ole Miss forced a three-and-out after the interception, negating its effect. Chambliss and the offense got behind the chains a couple of times on the next drive, leading to a punt.
Nick Cull picked off Curtis on a dropped pass at the 49-yard line. The Vanderbilt offense had found some momentum and were slowly making its way down the field until the turnover.
Backup quarterback Deuce Knight came into the game at the end of the third quarter. Carneiro made a 42-yard field goal to make it 45-10.
Maldonado started the next defensive chance with a 7-yard tackle for loss, but Curtis threw for 14 yards on the next play. Later on the drive, Vanderbilt went for it on fourth-and-1 on their own 35-yard line, but could not convert.
Running back Shekai Mills-Knight ran for a 35-yard touchdown, the first of his career, 52-10. Vanderbilt scored a touchdown with under a minute left in the game to make it 52-17. The Rebels snapped the ball one more time and let the clock run out.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m. against the Missouri Tigers. Both teams are 2-1 in SEC play going into Week 7.
