Rebels No Show in Nashville – Ole Miss/Vanderbilt Analysis

Photo by Joshua McCoy / Ole Miss Athletics

After the Rebels fell to Vanderbilt 38-17 Saturday night, they now face a win or go home game against Mississippi State this weekend. The Rebels jumped out to a 10 – 0 lead over the Commodores. From that moment on, it was clear who the more prepared team on the field was.

An impressive nine-play, 75-yard opening drive led by Shea Patterson stalled, leading to a 23-yard Gary Wunderlich field goal. Later in the first quarter, a muffed punt by Vanderbilt’s Darrius Sims put the Rebels within striking distance once more. In the form of a 21-yard, improvised touchdown pass from Patterson to a wide open Akeem Judd, the Rebels widened their lead and looked to be on the verge of putting the Commodores away early.

Vanderbilt quickly stroked back with a scoring drive of their own, cutting the Rebel lead to three. Scoring 31 unanswered points, the Rebels found themselves in a hole they were unable to dig out of. The Commodores were able to move the ball with ease against the once proud Ole Miss defense. All five of Vanderbilt’s touchdown drives went for 70 yards or more, with the Commodore offense finding a good balance of run and pass.

As the Commodores built a lead, the Rebel offense was unable to gain any traction. Plagued by drops and inconsistent play from the freshman phenom, the Rebels didn’t score until a 38-yard touchdown pass to Evan Engram early in the fourth quarter. Unable to hang in the pocket, Patterson showed signs of the nerves we expected to see in College Station. Bailing from the pocket quickly, and missing open receivers, Patterson was unable to lead a comeback effort Saturday night in Nashville. The blame can be spread all around, but the dropped passes were noticeable drive killers as the game went on.

Coach Freeze talks about the lack of sustained offense productivity after the game.

“We never found the rhythm again offensively,” Freeze said. “I don’t know how many drops we had tonight; it had to be approaching 10 to 12. Fourth-down play in the red zone gets overturned. We had a lot of drops, and they did a good job with their schemes. They made adjustments, and we couldn’t answer.”

Patterson took hit after hit Saturday night, forced out of the pocket all night long as the Rebel O-line wasn’t able to protect their young QB. Pressure from the Vandy defense ensured that Patterson was made uncomfortable for the majority of the game. Perhaps the pressure caused the missed throws late in the contest and left Patterson a bit rattled. Those who were against pulling Patterson’s redshirt can point to this game as to why it may not have been the right call. With a deflated defense and a banged-up offensive line, Patterson wasn’t able to get in a rhythm all night long. As a team, the Rebels rushed for under 100 yards, forcing Patterson to throw 42 times. The once again one-dimensional Rebel offense managed just 363 yards of total offense.

The Rebel defense lost LB DeMarquis Gates to a targeting call early in the third quarter, meaning he will also miss the first half of the Egg Bowl. Already thin at the linebacker position, the Rebels continued to allow big plays on the ground and in the air with young secondary. Vanderbilt’s offense ranked 13th in the SEC averaging 336 YPG but was able to put up 481 yards on the Rebel defense. RB Ralph Webb led the Commodores with 123 yards and three TDs on the ground, while QB Kyle Shurmur threw for 273 yards and two TDs. The calls for changes on defense won’t be silenced after this performance by the Rebel defense.

“You give up explosive plays and can’t stop the run, you’re not going to beat anybody,” Rebels defensive coordinator Dave Wommack told the Clarion-Ledger’s Antonio Morales. “That’s what it seemed like we did, especially in the second half. We gave up two in the first half as well.”

The victory in College Station seemed to mask the issues that the Rebels had on both sides of the ball, but those shortcomings were exposed on Saturday night. Now with their backs against the wall, the Rebels must find a way to get back up and win the Egg Bowl to become bowl eligible. The Bulldogs are not going to a bowl game after their loss to Arkansas in Starkville on Saturday, meaning they will come with everything they’ve got to stop the Rebels from getting to six wins. The Rebels may have to go into the game without Evan Engram who left Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury. Freeze talked about moving forward and focusing on the Egg Bowl, and the importance of getting players healthy ahead of the “win or go home” game.

“I didn’t get them ready to play,” Freeze said. “The only thing that matters now is getting back and getting some guys healthy. We lost some more tonight. We need to get as many healthy as we can to try and gain bowl eligibility with the Egg Bowl next week.” 

With a mobile QB in Nick Fitzgerald, the Bulldogs pose a threat to the Rebel defense, and if the offense can’t find their rhythm once more, the Rebels will find themselves watching the bowl games instead of preparing for one. The Egg Bowl will kick-off at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at 2:30 p.m. this Saturday.

Steven Gagliano is a writer for HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at steven.gagliano@hottytoddy.com.

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