Vanderbilt’s 38-14 loss at Georgia wasn’t pretty, but it also shouldn’t obscure the fact that this remains a dangerous Commodore team, particularly at home. Now Vanderbilt gets another ranked opponent as No. 9 Ole Miss visits Nashville.
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The Rebels are 3-1 overall and 1-1 in SEC play and are coming off an open week. Before the break, Ole Miss experienced both ends of life in the SEC: an emotional victory over LSU followed by a 52-28 beating at Florida. Vanderbilt is 3-2 and still searching for its first SEC victory. Ole Miss Athletics.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has completed 70.8 percent of his passes and thrown for 1,222 yards through four games. Deuce Alexander has emerged as his primary target and is averaging 15.9 yards per reception.
That’s a difficult combination for Vanderbilt, but the Commodores have weapons of their own.
Junior Sherrill has 474 receiving yards and produced seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown against Georgia. His 60-yard scoring reception showed Vanderbilt can strike quickly even against an elite defense. Whether quarterback Jared Curtis can return from a bruised knee is another storyline to watch; Blaze Berlowitz handled the quarterback duties against Georgia.
The Commodores’ biggest enemy may be themselves.
Vanderbilt is averaging nine penalties per game, ranking near the bottom of the FBS. That’s difficult to overcome against an average opponent and potentially fatal against a Top-10 team.
Vanderbilt must play cleaner football, avoid giving Ole Miss extra possessions and find ways to create explosive plays through Sherrill. Defensively, the Commodores need to make Chambliss work underneath rather than allowing Alexander and the Rebels’ receivers to consistently get behind the secondary.
Ole Miss should benefit from the open week. Pete Golding has had additional time to address the defensive problems exposed by Florida and prepare specifically for Vanderbilt.
Still, this is a matchup where the Commodores can make things uncomfortable. FirstBank Stadium won’t intimidate Ole Miss, but Vanderbilt has become a much more difficult team to simply overpower.
I expect Vanderbilt to hang around. A couple of early Commodore scoring drives could turn this into a genuinely interesting fourth quarter.
Ultimately, Ole Miss has more offensive weapons and greater margin for error. Vanderbilt probably needs to play its cleanest game of the season to win. I don’t quite see that happening, but I do see the Commodores making the Rebels earn it.
Prediction: Ole Miss 31, Vanderbilt 24
Note: 16Powers.com is 19-8 so far this season picking winners. That said, these predictions are intended for entertainment purposes only.Â
