The No. 9 Rebels defeated the Commodores 52-17 in Nashville on Oct. 10. Ole Miss executed well for most of the game, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. While many factors contributed to the lopsided score, the Commodore penalties played a sizable role in the Rebel victory.
The Rebels did not need the referees to win the game for them. Ole Miss did enough on their own to get the win. The defense looked much better and stayed alert throughout the game.
The Ole Miss defense allowed 343 yards, while totaling three sacks, eight tackles of loss, two interceptions, four quarterback hurries and one forced fumble. Edge rusher Blake Purchase led the defense with two sacks.
“There’s an emphasis on the defensive side of the ball of leveraging the football, being a little more violent on the contact,” head coach Pete Golding said in the post game press conference. “(It) wasn’t perfect. (We) still had some missed tackles, still had some loss coverages, but that’s week in and week out. To come on the road versus a good football team, that takes everybody down to the line.”
In the past, the Rebel defense would often check out after making big plays or getting important stops. Ole Miss has a tendency to get complacent. That was not the case for this game. One instance of this came near the end of the first half.
With just under a minute left to play and Vanderbilt on their own 13-yard line, it would have been easy for the Rebel defense to take a break and play to force a punt. Instead, Purchase kept the pressure on Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis and logged a big strip-sack. Edge rusher Suntarine Perkins picked up the fumble and ran it in for a touchdown.
After Mark Trigg Jr. forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Rebel offense stayed hot, putting up a quick touchdown to close out the half with the lead, 42-3.
While some sequences showed that the Rebels played well, Vanderbilt penalties aided the Ole Miss effort, evening turning possible field goal opportunities into seven points for the Rebels. The Commodores totaled 11 penalties for 92 yards. Some flags against Vanderbilt were very costly.
In the first quarter, the Rebels held the ball on Vanderbilt’s 25-yard line, and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss fired an end zone shot to tight end Caleb Odom. Vanderbilt’s Mason Lewis illegally impeded Odom to break up the pass, and both Odom and Rebel fans instantly called out in protest.
The result of the play was pass interference, which gave Ole Mis a fresh set of downs and moved them forward to Vanderbilt’s 10-yard line. Chambliss then kept the ball himself and ran it in for a touchdown.
In that instance, the Rebels likely could have advanced the ball forward themselves or attempted a field goal, but thanks to the penalty the touchdown was all but ensured.
Another instance where penalties helped the Rebels came with nine minutes left in the second quarter.
Ole Miss was again in scoring position on the Commodore’s 10-yard line, but had third-and-9 to work with. Thanks to a personal foul call on Vanderbilt’s Jaylon Stone, the Rebels were bailed out and given the first down. Just two plays later, nose tackle Jamarious Brown scored a touchdown for Ole Miss.
Vanderbilt mistakes also assisted the Rebel defense. After Chambliss’ interception in the third quarter, the Commodore offense stepped onto the field, but on the first play of the drive, they were penalized five yards for a false start. That penalty forced Vanderbilt into a long down that they were unable to recover from.
Still, the Ole Miss defense was stout on Saturday night. There were clear improvements on every level. Schematically, the Rebels did not change anything. It simply came down to execution.
“There wasn’t one new call that we put in for this game that wasn’t already a part of the system, and so that’s what I tell you guys all the time,” Golding said. “The execution was a little better, and I think we played harder. We had some guys win one-on-ones, and I think that’s the biggest thing on defense.”
It is important to note that not everything was called in favor of the Rebels. Ole Miss totaled 11 penalties for 70 yards. Even if the Rebels did not receive some beneficial calls, they still would have won the game handily.
Overall, Chambliss and company put up 52 points of their own accord, but it must be admitted that they were slightly assisted in certain situations by Vanderbilt penalties. While Ole Miss would have still gotten the win without the penalties, things could have been closer if the Commodores were not so sloppy.
