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Ole Miss needed a feel-good, get-well game heading into the open date.

Vanderbilt showed up on the schedule at just the right time.

Ole Miss throttled the Commodores, 54-2, Saturday afternoon, racing out to a quick 21-0 lead and then cruising the rest of the way.

After five weeks' worth of nail-biters, Ole Miss' cuticles were untouched in Nashville.

Matt Corral and Elijah Moore connected for 223 first-half yards. Moore was targeted 13 times and came away with 12 catches. Moore finished with 14 catches for 238 yards and three touchdowns. The catches tied A.J. Brown and Laquon Treadwell for the most receptions in a single game in Ole Miss history. The yards passed Brown for the most in a single game in Rebels' history. Ole Miss left Nashville with 661 total yards.

Ole Miss' defense wasn't perfect -- it's never going to be, at least not this season -- but it made enough stops to allow the Rebels' offense to get comfortable.

Corral was 22-for-25 passing in the first half alone, good for 318 yards and four touchdowns. Corral was relieved by John Rhys Plumlee late in the third quarter but not before completing 31 of 34 passes for 412 yards and six touchdowns. The completion percentage (91.1 percent) broke Eli Manning's record of 80.6 percent set against Middle Tennessee in 2001.

It's shocking that Ole Miss' quarterback "competition" is even a discussion -- locally, nationally, at all -- but Corral has grown quite a bit in the past few weeks. On Saturday, Corral went through his progressions, took shots when they were available and checked down when appropriate. A few weeks ago, in a loss at Arkansas, Corral forced things. Against Vanderbilt, in much the same manner that he did a week ago versus Auburn, Corral was was calm and poised, picking Vanderbilt apart. Saturday was Corral's 10th career start. More and more, he's looking like a future star.

The blowout win was just what Ole Miss needed on Saturday. The Rebels, who have been so close in losses to Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn, needed a breather. In a 10-game, conference-only schedule, those are hard to come by. In fact, Vanderbilt, easily the worst team in the Southeastern Conference, is likely the only candidate for a day off at the office. Ole Miss, to its credit, took advantage.

Now the Rebels get a much-needed week off. It's a chance to get a little rest, both mentally and physically. It's a chance to decompress.

Ole Miss, now 2-4, returns home on Nov. 14 against South Carolina. The Rebels' final three games include a Nov. 21 date at Texas A&M, the Nov. 28 Egg Bowl game versus Mississippi State in Oxford and the season finale in Baton Rouge on Dec. 5 at LSU.

All four games are winnable. At least three -- and likely all four -- are losable. The Rebels' offense is that good; its defense that porous.

For now, however, all of that can wait. Just two weeks ago, Ole Miss left Fayetteville feeling it let an opportunity get away through a series of unforced errors. Seven days ago, Ole Miss watched Auburn leave town with a win it felt should have belonged to the Rebels. The public talk was about a blown call that likely cost Ole Miss a touchdown. Inside the Manning Center, however, Ole Miss knew it had hurt itself far more than the stripes did.

Ole Miss needed a dominant performance in Nashville. It got it. Ole Miss needed a laugher, a chance to exhale. It got that, too.

Beating Vanderbilt won't change the trajectory of Lane Kiffin's rebuild in Oxford. The Commodores are awful, even by Vanderbilt standards. There is still much work to be done.

But the Rebels can feel good about themselves this week, take the edge off for a few days before gearing up for the final quartet of games. Anyone with eyes can see the direction Kiffin has the program headed.

Saturday wasn't some benchmark day in that endeavor. No one will remember it, other than the myriad citations in the Ole Miss record book. But it was a day when Ole Miss had one job -- take care of business and do it efficiently.

The Rebels did just that.