The Ole Miss - Vanderbilt Match-ups

The match-up:

This game will be the 83rd meeting

between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt dating back to 1894. The Rebels

lead the series 46-34-2 and have won 12 of the last 15 meetings

since 1992. The Rebels hold a 22-3 advantage in games played in

Oxford and have won four straight, including the 17-10 victory

in 2006. Ole Miss leads 46-16-2 in SEC games. The

Commodores last win in Oxford came in 1999 when they won 37-34

in overtime. Vanderbilt won the first 19 games in the series,

with Ole Miss winning 46 of the last 63 games.

At Stake:

For the Rebels to go bowling, it's an imperative to be 3-1 headed into a road trip to Florida next week. While

Vanderbilt is off to a 3-0 start, and is perhaps the surprise of

the SEC, the schedule only gets tougher for Ole Miss, with three

out of the next four games on the road, as the Rebels must trip

to Alabama and Arkansas in October after hosting South Carolina

on Oct. 4.

Keys to the Game:

1) Stop Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson. Nickson is

no Jay Cutler when it comes to throwing the football, but he can

lull defenses to sleep with his running ability and then hit

open receivers. 2) Defense must show up. Vanderbilt

runs one of the most diverse offenses in the conference and is

hard to defend. The defensive line needs to make a

difference by apply pressure and containing Nickson. 3)

Offense needs some big plays. They've been there all

season - they just haven't been executed. From missing two

long throws against Samford last week and overthrowing Mike

Wallace in the end zone at Wake Forest, the Rebel offense needs

to execute the big play this weekend.

Ole Miss rushing versus the

Vanderbilt ground defense: Ole Miss checks in at

No. 43 among the 119 Division I teams in rushing offense,

gaining 173 yards per game. While that's an impressive

number in a balanced offense, the Rebel staff wasn't pleased

with the effort at Wake Forest and has concentrated the last two

weeks on improving the running game. The issue is a group

of talented, but inexperienced backs, and run blocking along the

offense line. The effort saw an improvement from 107 yards

at Wake Forest to 196 yards against Samford. Vanderbilt

and SEC competition figures to offer a bigger challenge.

Vanderbilt comes in at No. 38 in rushing defensive, giving up 98

yards per game. Ironically, Commodore head coach Bobby

Johnson had his defensive line pegged to be the biggest

concern headed into the season, but a solid linebacker corps has

helped the cause. One player to watch is defensive

end Broderick Stewart, who had 10.5 career sacks headed into the

season. Just as Ole Miss may be challenged running the

football, Vanderbilt is likely facing the best offensive line

they've seen all year. Ole Miss shelved the Wild Rebel

formation for most of the Samford game, but look for it to be

more popular this weekend to keep Vanderbilt spread out and

off-balance.

Advantage: Ole Miss

Ole Miss passing versus the

Vanderbilt secondary: The running game remains

a work in progress and the same can be said about the passing game.

Actually, the only thing that hasn't worked in the Ole Miss

passing game is the deep pass, and if quarterback Jevan Snead

gets his timing and mechanics down to make that threat work, it

could be the difference maker for Ole Miss in this game.

The Rebels are No. 53 at 234 yards per game through the

air - and throw in

four or five missed long passes - and that yardage would likely

average around 300 yards per game. Vanderbilt is at No. 97 in

passing defense, giving up 258 yards per game through the air.

The Commodore secondary was to be the strength of the defense

with all four starters returning, led by a pair of stars -

cornerback D.J. Moore and strong safety Reshard Langford.

For whatever reason, the Commodore stats are unimpressive with

Rice throwing for almost 300 yards last week and both South

Carolina and Miami of Ohio both throwing for almost 250 in those

games. A key to watch will be pass protection, with Ole

Miss pass blocking being exceptional to date and Vanderbilt

leading the conference in sacks with ten. Still,

Vanderbilt likely hasn't seen the fleet group of receivers

they'll see on Saturday and certainly not a quarterback who has

the total package as Snead does.

Advantage: Ole Miss

Vanderbilt rushing

versus the Ole Miss ground defense: Vanderbilt's

bread and butter in winning its first three games has been the

running game. The Commodores come into the game ranked No.

17 among the 119 Division IA teams at 225 yards per game.

Ole Miss comes in with a very respectable ranking at No. 51 in

rushing defense, giving up 114 yards per game. On the plus side

for the Rebels, the team will have the dynamic duo of Peria Jerry and Greg Hardy for the first time this season. That

gives the defensive line added depth which should help in

defending the run. But key in stopping the run may be more

at linebacker than along the defensive line. Of big

concern is the fact that the Rebels struggled in defending the

run out of the spread against Memphis when they gave up 188

yards. On the plus side is the defensive improved

substantially against Wake Forest a week later. However,

look for Vanderbilt to bring better talent and a more diverse

offensive scheme that could give the Rebels some problems.

Edge: Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt passing versus the Ole

Miss secondary:

Vanderbilt comes in next to last - No. 118

among Division I teams in passing - at 84 yards per game.

Ole Miss' acknowledged weak spot and potential achilles heel is

the secondary where the Rebels are giving up 214 yards per game

through the air, good for a No. 77 ranking. The big news is that

Earl Bennett is finally gone as he always seemed to have a field

day against Ole Miss and the Commodores have nowhere near the

talent at wide receiver as most SEC teams. That should make the

Rebels' job in the secondary easier as long as they don't get

lulled to sleep and begin to defend the run. Nickson isn't

likely to throw for 200 or more yards against Ole Miss, but he

will use the pass just enough to make the Commodore running game

effective. The wild card for Ole Miss could be Hardy -

both in terms of pressure and contain. While the Rebel

staff brought Jerry along slowing at Wake Forest before

increasing his role the following week against Samford, don't be

surprised to see Hardy unleash himself quickly - he missed most

of spring practice in 2007 while playing basketball for Andy

Kennedy - and was one of the most impressive defensive players

in the spring game despite limited practice.

Edge: Even

Special Teams: Vanderbilt

placekicker Bryant Hahnfeldt struggled last season after hitting

on just 13 of 20 field goal attempts. Brett Upson is not

sensational at punter, but kicked for a 39 average and a more

impressive 32-yard net. Ole Miss has had breakdowns this

season in kickoff coverage, which needs to improve. The

staff praised punter Rob Park for being more consistent against Samford and

Josh Shene has been perfect all year. Justin

Sparks kick offs have improved over a year ago. The Rebels

did see Marshay Green unleashed on a punt return for a touchdown

last week, but could use improved consistency on punt and kick

returns overall.

Edge: Even

Weather forecast:

Scattered thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in

the low 60s.

Broadcast information: TV:

TV: There is no live TV for this game. The CSS

replay of the game will be Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. RADIO: Ole Miss Radio Network (David Kellum, play-by-play; Pete

Cordelli, color analyst; Stan Sandroni, sideline reporter). XM

Satellite Radio channel 141. WEB: OleMissSports.com will provide

live audio, live stats and an in-game blog for the game. The

official Rebel athletics website will also provide a full game

recap, photo gallery and postgame video coverage.