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NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt football is getting destroyed at halftime against No. 9 Ole Miss.
The Commodores are losing by a score of 42-3 at halftime after surrendering 28 points in the second quarter. Vanderbilt has turned the ball over three times and Ole Miss has scored a touchdown following every turnover.
Vanderbilt’s 39-point deficit is the worst deficit the Commodores have had in any game since Nov. 11, 2023, when they lost to South Carolina 47-6. That game occurred before the Diego Pavia era even began in Nashville. To nobody’s surprise, Vanderbilt was booed by its fans as it went into the locker room for halftime.
Vanderbilt’s defense started the game off on the right foot for the first possession of the game, but that was the only highlight the Commodores’ defense had in the first half. Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and the rest of the offense scored a touchdown on four consecutive drives.
Vanderbilt forced Ole Miss to punt the ball in the closing minutes of the first half, but Vanderbilt five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis fumbled the ball on his own 1-yard line and Ole Miss scooped the ball up and scored a touchdown off it to go up 35-3.
As if the day could not possibly get any worse for Vanderbilt, it did. On the ensuing kickoff, Vanderbilt fumbled the ball in the middle of its kickoff return and Ole Miss scooped it up once again and took the ball to the 9-yard line.
Two plays later, Vanderbilt gave up another touchdown to go down 39 points at the half.
Vanderbilt is getting out-gained by Ole Miss 284 yards to 158. On top of that, Vanderbilt has seven penalties for 72 yards. The Commodores had 59 of those penalty yards in the first quarter. Trinidad Chambliss is having his way with Vanderbilt's defense, throwing 17-for-23 for 178 yards and three passing touchdowns while running for eight yards and a touchdown.
Vanderbilt is coming off back-to-back losses to Auburn and Georgia on the road. Barring for what would be a true miracle in the second half, it is looking like the Commodores will lose their third game in a row. Their record will fall to 3-3 with six games to go. Vanderbilt will have to go 3-3 or better the rest of the way to go to a bowl game.
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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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