The no. 3 Ole Miss Rebels were in for quite a game against Vanderbilt on Saturday, with the Commodores proving to be a very tough matchup. Ole Miss was able to get the victory by a score of 27-16, but Vanderbilt hung in the game until late in the fourth quarter and played much better than their losing record would have suggested.
Vanderbilt kicker Tommy Openshaw scored the first points of the game with a 28-yard field goal that made the Rebels trail for the first time all season. The Commodores lead was short-lived, however, as quarterback Chad Kelly led the Rebels down and threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Damore’ea Stringfellow, who, in addition to scoring his first touchdown as a Rebel, finished the game with four catches for 71 yards.
The play on both offenses stagnated for a while, but Ole Miss was able to get two Gary Wunderlich field goals before the half, with wide receiver Laquon Treadwell coming up with some big receptions on both drives. Treadwell finished the game with eight catches for 135 yards.
After halftime, Vanderbilt came out firing and scored a 41-yard field goal. On the next possession running back Ralph Webb broke off a 43-yard run and eventually caught a 7-yard touchdown from Johnny McCrary to tie the game up at 13.
A few possessions later the Rebel defense was able to force a punt, and sophomore wide receiver Cale Luke changed the game’s momentum completely by blocking the kick, which set the Rebels up on their own 20-yard line. Ole Miss was eventually able to score a touchdown on a one yard rush from do-it-all defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche, but the red-zone woes that that troubled the Rebels earlier continued, as it took four tries for the Rebels to finally hit pay dirt.
Ole Miss now held a 20-13 lead, but Vanderbilt refused to go away, forcing the Rebels to commit several penalties in coverage to set up a 34-yard Openshaw field goal to cut the Rebels lead to 20-16.
After putting up video game numbers in his three games with the Rebels, Kelly struggled passing against Vanderbilt and was picked off on the ensuing drive, setting the commodores up with excellent field positioning. On the day, Kelly completed 24 of his 42 passes for 321 yards and one touchdown and two interceptions.
Despite Vanderbilt being inside the red-zone to begin their possession, the Ole Miss defense stepped up and forced a 32-yard field goal attempt. Openshaw, who started off a perfect 3/3 in field goal attempts with makes from 28, 41, and 34 yards, was not able to make the 32-yard field goal, giving Ole Miss the ball.
On the ensuing drive running back Jaylen Walton broke off a couple of long runs and scored a three-yard touchdown to put the game out of the Commodores reach at 27-16. Walton finished the game with 21 carries for 133 yards and a touchdown.
Vanderbilt had one more chance to score, but turned the ball over on downs after cornerback Tony Bridges swatted away a fourth down pass. The Rebels improved to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in the SEC, while Vanderbilt fell to 1-3.
