Vanderbilt is defeated by No. 9 Ole Miss, 52-17
Vanderbilt is defeated by No. 9 Ole Miss, 52-17
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Vanderbilt lost its third straight game in a row, losing to Ole Miss 52-17 at home. It was an abysmal performance by the Commodores, who looked undisciplined and miserable in all facets of the game.
The Ole Miss Rebels (4-1, 2-1 SEC) made their second trip to Nashville in the 2026 season on Saturday, Oct. 10, as they visited Vanderbilt (3-3, 0-3 SEC) in the Commodores’ SEC home-opener.
On a rainy afternoon, both teams looked to regain momentum on their seasons, as the ’Dores sought to overcome back-to-back losses to Georgia and Auburn, while Ole Miss’s College Football Playoff dreams were on the line after a defeat in Gainesville, Florida two weeks prior.
The away team’s powder blue and white lined the stands of FirstBank Stadium — greatly outnumbering the Black and Gold — but the poor weather deterred the bleachers from being filled well as a whole.
First quarter
Following the National Anthem and Anchoring-down ceremony, Ole Miss won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball.
And thus, the Rebels’ Heisman-contending quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and Co. took the field. On the first play of the game, he overthrew wideout Deuce Alexander before doing the same while targeting Johntay Cook II. On 3rd-and-10, Chambliss threaded the ball for a nine-yard gain to tight end Caleb Odom, but after a confusing audible call, was forced to take a delay-of-game penalty before the 4th-and-1 snap.
The home team’s first play after the punt was a Sedrick Alexander rush for no-gain, and notably, its signal caller, Jared Curtis, was back in action after missing last week’s matchup. On second down, he made a three-yard completion to Tristen Brown before Ole Miss called a timeout.
The hazy weather seemed to be affecting both quarterbacks’ play, as Curtis overthrew Brown on the ensuing third-down. On the punt return, Alexander juked out safety CJ Heard for a seven-yard return to the 25-yard line. The Rebels then gave the ball to running back Kewan Lacy, who was also returning from injury.
A pair of passing plays then burned the Commodores, as Chambliss found Horatio Fields for a 14-yard sideline grab, and then Alexander made another defender — Martel Hight — miss a tackle again as he broke away for 15 more yards.
Then, it was the tailback’s turn, as Lacy found a hole and took the ball to Vanderbilt’s 25-yard line for a 19-yard gain. The Rebels got their fourth-consecutive first down as Mason Lewis was called for pass interference against Odom. That play was followed-up by a 10-yard designed run for Chambliss which ended with him diving into the end zone to take a 7-0 lead.
The lightning-fast drive by the ’Rebs went for 75 yards in a minute and 45 seconds. Curtis took some initiative of his own by looking deep on first down, finding Junior Sherrill for a 15-yard connection before tossing it to Ja’Cory Thomas down the left-hand sideline for 34 more.
Now, on the Ole Miss 27-yard line, Vanderbilt backed itself up with a holding call on Beau Johnson, but Curtis found tight end Cole Spence on a play-action call to move to the 6-yard line. Penalties continued to burn the ’Dores, though, as tackle Clinton Azubike punched a Rebel defender to send his team back for 15 yards on an unnecessary roughness call.
On a 3rd-and-long, Curtis was sacked by Suntarine Perkins, so the Commodores settled for a Brock Taylor 45-yard field goal to make it 7-3.
Chambliss kept cooking, finding Alexander for a 12-yard come back grab, and Lacy danced for 11 yards to move into Vanderbilt territory. A controversial pass-interference which saw Hight deflect a touchdown ball to Alexander led to the Rebels getting the ball on the 2-yard line, and Lacy punched it in for six. The ’Dores went down multiple possessions, but the crowd began to get very into the game.
Vanderbilt started its next drive off with an Evan Hampton jet sweep for 9 yards, and Lyndon Cooper mis-snapped the ball and set the ’Dores back three yards. They were able to recover and get the first down, but MK Young was quickly brought down for a loss of three yards. On third down a pass was batted down to send out the punt team.
Ole Miss ended the quarter up 14-3 with a 2nd-and-5 on its own 42-yard line.
Second quarter
After a few penalties, Chambliss escaped the pocket to find Cook for a 13-yard gain, and then RB Makhi Frazier ran for 16-yards. Now, with a 1st-and-10 on the Commodores’ 12-yard line, Heard made an electric play to push Chambliss out-of-bounds for a loss of a yard, and then batted down a throw on 3rd-and-9 force a field goal — except it didn’t matter as Jaylon Stone headbutted a Rebel for another unnecessary roughness penalty.
Vanderbilt called a timeout as it nearly had 12 men on the field and still was not prepared for Chambliss to lob it up to nose tackle Jamarious Brown who was in as an eligible pass-catcher. Down 21-3 with 9:09 remaining in the period, Vanderbilt had twice the amount of penalties as it did points.
The next Commodore drive started out with a loss of a yard on an Alexander handoff, before center Gunner Givens had to be helped off the field. Thomas caught a 3rd-and-13 ball in stride and ran it to get a first down, but a couple plays later a screen pass went off Sherrill’s hands and ended up in those of the Rebel’s Antonio Kite.
Vanderbilt nearly got it back in good time, forcing a 3rd-and-17, but then Chambliss found Caleb Cunningham for 22-yards before Alexander’s elite speed allowed him to get it into pay dirt from 39 yards out. Ole Miss had four straight touchdown drives and the ’Dores got the ball back with 4:41 remaining in the quarter.
On the first play of the next sequence, Young broke free on a carry to the right for a gain of 37 yards. On a weird next play, a ball that looked nearly intercepted was somehow grabbed by Sherrill who advanced it for 17 yards. The Rebels pressured Curtis moments later on a 4th-and-5 and sacked him, getting the ball back.
Vanderbilt then forced its second three-and-out of the day just after the two-minute warning and received the ball with 1:20 on the clock at its own 8-yard line. That sequence resulted in Curtis fumbling the ball in a drop back — which was returned by Perkins for a touchdown.
Then, Hampton fumbled the kick return, and Ole Miss got the ball in the red zone again. So, Chambliss tossed it to Michael Smith to make it 42-3. Curtis took a knee, and the few Vanderbilt fans remaining in the stands booed their team off the field.
Third quarter
Vanderbilt got the ball to start the second half, and its first drive included a 25-yard throw to Walter Taylor and resulted in a 13-yard fade route touchdown from Curtis to Thomas.
Then, the rain started to get a little bit harder than a drizzle, but Chambliss was unphased — hucking it to Traylon Ray for 15 yards to start the next drive. Frazier kept running the ball well, but as Ole Miss kept driving, Heard intercepted a tipped ball that was thrown into coverage due to pressure from Miles Capers.
The ’Dores quickly went three-and-out, and Ole Miss got the ball with 5:09 remaining in the third period. Both teams, aware of the vast score difference, were taking it much slower after halftime.
Capers made a hit on Chambliss the next possession for a three-yard loss before Heard made a somewhat-dirty hit on Ray that took the wideout to the sideline. The Rebels punted again, and just as the Commodores started driving, Curtis’s throw was tipped by Spence into the arms of Nick Cull wearing Powder Blue.
The Rebels had the ball on Vanderbilt’s 44-yard line at the end of the quarter.
Fourth quarter
Ole Miss subbed in backup quarterback and former Auburn starter Deuce Knight, who had a few nice running plays to get a first down. Vanderbilt stopped him on a 3rd-and-3, and the ’Rebs knocked in a 42 yard field goal to make it 45-10.
To start off the next series, Young ran out-of-bounds for a seven yard loss, but the ’Dores battled-back to get a few first downs as Curtis connected with Taylor and Jayvontay Connor. However, on a 4th-and-1, Vanderbilt got stuffed at the line of scrimmage, and Ole Miss got poessesion on its opponent’s 35-yard line.
On the first play of the Rebels’ next drive, backup ball-carrier Shekai Mills-Knight broke away for a touchdown, and Ole Miss reached 52 points on the day. Blaze Berlowitz, who started for Vandy versus Georgia the week prior, marched onto the field, and came right off three players later for the punt unit.
A good punt put Ole Miss on its own 5-yard line, and it swiftly punted from its own end zone. The next drive, Berlowitz found Cole Adams for a long first down over the middle, then ran for a first down that led into the two minute warning. After that TV timeout, the Commodores attempted to score, and they did — as Jamezell Lassiter ran it in from the 1-yard line. Ole Miss then ran out the clock with 42 seconds remaining.
Vanderbilt will look to redeem itself next Saturday, Oct. 17 when it plays host to Arkansas at 6 p.m. CDT at FirstBank Stadium.
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Football: Vanderbilt is defeated by No. 9 Ole Miss, 52-17 – The Vanderbilt Hustler
