Rebels and Commodores to open in prime time
OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss' 2013 football season opener at Vanderbilt has been moved to a Thursday night primetime slot on ESPN, Aug. 29, the Southeastern Conference announced Tuesday.
The national broadcast will air on ESPN at 8:15 p.m. CT, following the North Carolina-South Carolina game that begins at 5 p.m. CT.
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Ole Miss and Vanderbilt are two of the SEC's hottest teams entering 2013.
The Rebels are coming off a 7-6 season and BBVA Compass Bowl win over Pittsburgh in the first year under head coach Hugh Freeze, who also hauled in a consensus top-10 signing class in Febraury. Ole Miss had six total wins in the previous two years before Freeze's arrival.
The Commodores were 9-4 in 2012, their most wins in a season since 1915. In his first two years at the helm, head coach James Franklin has led VU to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in school history.
The last time Ole Miss opened the season against an SEC foe was in 2003, also a trip to Nashville to play the Commodores. That Rebel team defeated Vanderbilt 24-21.
The Rebels' last Thursday game was the 2009 SEC opener at South Carolina.