No. 9 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt: Game Central Rundown, Live Updates and Analysis – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE — Can Vanderbilt football bounce back in an unthinkable way?
That is the question going into this week as the Commodores attempt to end a two-game losing streak to begin SEC play. The last two weeks, Vanderbilt has had road trips to Auburn and Georgia and lost them both.
Despite the loss, Vanderbilt feels like it is continuing to get closer to the team it believes it is. This week presents another big test for the team’s first SEC home game of the season. Vanderbilt takes on No. 9 Ole Miss, who is looking to redeem itself after the beating it took two weeks ago.
Ole Miss went to Florida following its emotional win against Lane Kiffin and LSU, but had an emotional letdown in The Swamp. The Rebels lost to the Gators 52-24 and are now coming off their bye week.
The biggest story for Vanderbilt this week was the availability of five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis. Curtis missed last week’s game against Georgia with a knee injury, but it seems like that he will be back on the field Saturday.
Vanderbilt will try to rely on Curtis and the rest of the offense to keep up with Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the weapons he has at his disposal. The explosiveness of the game, though, could be limited by the weather. With seemingly plenty of rain in the forecast, it could be a day for the running backs.
Vanderbilt and Ole Miss are scheduled to kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Note: This story will be frequently updated throughout the day and game.
If a player goes down during the game, we'll keep tabs on it and share any and all updates.
– Vanderbilt five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis is expected to start after being listed as probable on the Wednesday night injury report. He continued to progress from a knee bruise injury he suffered against Auburn two weeks ago. After missing the game against Georgia last week, it looks like Curtis will be back on the field for Vanderbilt.
– Vanderbilt offensive lineman Mitchell Smith is doubtful. Clark Lea said on Thursday that Smith is dealing with a banged up knee and has not practiced this week and said he will continue to be doubtful for the game against Ole Miss.
– Once again, Vanderbilt will be without cornerback Jaylin Lackey and linebacker Jamison Curtis with soft tissue injuries and defensive lineman Nikhil Jefferson to an injury as well. As Lea said two weeks ago, defensive lineman Aaron Bryant is out for the season with an ACL injury. Vanderbilt will also be without wide receiver Kahden Smith today as well.
Who: No. 9 Ole Miss (3-1) vs. Vanderbilt (3-2)
When: Saturday, Oct.10, 2:30 p.m. CT
Where: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, Tenn.
TV: ESPN
Series History: Ole Miss leads Vanderbilt 54-40-2 all-time.
Last time out, Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt dropped its second consecutive game of the season, losing to No. 2 Georgia 38-14.
Last time out, Ole Miss: Ole Miss is coming off its bye week. Before its bye, Ole Miss was trounced by Florida in Gainesville 52-28.
Weather: This weekend will be the worst weather that Vanderbilt has played in all season. As of Friday evening, the forecast on The Weather Channel has rain above 90% for the entire game with the rain starting earlier in the morning. It may not be a total washout give that there is not a thunderstorm in the forecast, but it looks right now that there will be steady rain the whole day.
Spread: Ole Miss -10.5 points
Over/Under: 54.5 points
Source: FanDuel Sportsbook
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER
Despite the two-game losing streak, Vanderbilt football has not lost its confidence nor its mentality on where it wants to go. The Commodores know that they have to start stringing together wins, but the hunger to get back on the winning track is still present. Read Graham Baakko’s story for what Clark Lea and players said about where the team is mentality-wise right now.
Vanderbilt starting tight end Cole Spence missed the first three games of the season due to a hyperextended knee that he sustained the week leading up to Vanderbilt’s 2026 opener against Austin Peay. He talked to Vandy On SI exclusively about what it was like returning from injury and what it means to him.
In another Vandy On SI exclusive, senior defensive analyst for Vanderbilt, Bob Shoop, talked about what it is liking getting to coach against his son, Ole Miss linebackers coach Jay Shoop. Read Joey Dwyer’s story for everything Bob Shoop said about this weekend.
QB: Jared Curtis, Blaze Berlowitz
RB: Sedrick Alexander, MK Young
X Receiver: Junior Sherrill, Ja'Cory Thomas, Joseph McVay
Y Receiver: Brycen Coleman, Cole Adams, Claiborne Richards
Z Receiver: Tristen Brown, Kayleb Barnett
Tight End: Cole Spence, Gabe Fisher, Maurice Veney
Tight End: Jayvontay Conner, Walter Taylor
Quick Tackle: Clinton Azubuike, CJ Williams
Quick Guard: Cade McConnell, Kevo Wesley, Ted Gregoire
Center: Lyndon Cooper, Gunnar Givens or Keegan Wechsler
Strong Guard: Orion Irving, Micah DeBose
Strong Tackle: Beau Johnson, Mitchell Smith
EDGE: Brian Allen, Edwin Kolenge, Hayden Bray
Defensive Tackle: Issa Ouattara, Bradley Mann, Talan Carter
Defensive Tackle: Glenn Seabrooks III, Jaylon Stone, Mike Diatta
Razor: Miles Capers, Mason Carter, Jake Stanish
Linebacker: Nick Rinaldi, Bryce Cowan, Josiah Broxton
Linebacker: Bryan Longwell, Bryce Cowan, Austin Howard
STAR: Mason Lewis or Carson Lawrence, Jailen Ruth
Cornerback: Martel Hight, Davin Chandler, Jaylin Davies, Cobey Sellers
Cornerback: Jordan Matthews, Cayden Daniels, Bishop Starling
Safety: Ricardo Jones, Dontae Carter
Safety: CJ Heard, Jalen Gilbert, Vanzale Hinton
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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