Ole Miss has a much-needed, well-timed bye week to work on itself and, as we’ve documented all week, there’s plenty to work on.
But time moves fast and next week will be here before we know it. First, though, another weekend of games is set to be played, including one involving Ole Miss’ next opponent.
Vanderbilt will host the Rebels next Saturday in Nashville. This week, the Commodores head south to face No. 2 Georgia in Athens, with kickoff set for 11:45 a.m. on SEC Network.
It’s not exactly a primetime, must-see game for the average fan. But you better believe Ole Miss coaches will be watching closely and probably more than once.
Fans don’t need to break down the film quite that thoroughly, but there’s plenty Ole Miss can learn from how Vanderbilt performs against one of the best teams on its schedule.
Here are five things Ole Miss should be watching when Vanderbilt plays Georgia.
How does Vanderbilt run the ball?
It’s not a big gamble to bet the first offensive play Vanderbilt runs in two weeks is a run play.
With how the Ole Miss defense fared last time we saw it on the field, testing the Rebels’ run defense is a wise decision. But not all running attacks are the same.
Florida’s offense was designed with a lot of horizontal movement pre-snap and mixed inside and outside run plays to great effect.
Do the Commodores run the ball in a similar way? Or is there more pulling linemen and lead blockers? Or does Vanderbilt utilize a lot of quick, bubble screen passes as part of a RPO concept?
How Vanderbilt chooses to run the ball matters a lot to the defensive gameplan Pete Golding and his staff will create this week and next.
What does Georgia exploit in Vanderbilt’s defense?
The Bulldogs are 24.5-point favorites against Vanderbilt. Barring an epic upset, its fair to assume Georgia will have offensive success exploiting a vulnerability in the Commodores’ defense.
The question is where that vulnerability is.
Georgia’s offense ranks No. 1 among SEC teams with 54.75 points per game and in yards per play (8.1). The Bulldogs are fifth in yards per game (480.75) and fourth in rushing yards per game (222.25).
On the other side, Vanderbilt’s defense ranks in the bottom half of the SEC rankings in almost every major defensive category.
Georgia will find a way to move the ball against Vanderbilt and get in the end zone. How it goes about doing that is something worth noting for the Rebels.
How aggressive is Vanderbilt on offense?
Ole Miss fans have already seen how an aggressive decision succeeding can impact a game. Golding’s decision to go for two in the fourth quarter against LSU put the Tigers’ offense in a bind needing to score eight points just to force overtime.
We’ve also seen those decisions not work out well, like last week at Florida when the Rebels’ offense tried to convert a fourth-and-1 on its opening possession. They failed, gave the ball to the Gators in Ole Miss territory and quickly found itself in a 10-0 hole.
That’s the trend for Ole Miss. It’s shown how aggressive it can be.
The question Saturday, though, will be how aggressive is Vanderbilt?
Whether the Commodores spend most of the game playing from behind or somehow finds a way to be competitive against Georgia, how coach Clark Lea handles fourth down decisions, two-point attempts and everything else will give us an idea of how aggressive the Commodores will be against Ole Miss.
Where does Vanderbilt’s defensive pressure come from?
One thing Vanderbilt does do well is pressure opposing quarterbacks. The Commodores are tied with Oklahoma for the fourth-most sacks in the SEC with 13. Three players have two or more sacks.
Nick Rinaldi has 3.5, Yilanan Ouattara and CJ Heard each have two. All three play at different levels of Vanderbilt’s defense. Rinaldi is a linebacker, Ouattara is a defensive tackle and Heard is a safety.
That’s a lot of different areas pressure can come from. There’s no guarantee Vanderbilt would attack Ole Miss the same way it will Georgia, but overall we’ll be able to see where the defensive disruption comes from.
Against Georgia, it’ll be even more pronounced because it’ll be much harder to make a disruptive play than it was against NC State or Auburn.
How does Jared Curtis handle Georgia’s pressure?
There’ll be a lot to watch from Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback. How does Curtis, a true freshman, handle the pressure of a road SEC game against one of the nation’s best teams?
Does he crumble? Does he make freshman-like mistakes? Or does he stand tall, complete passes and create big plays?
Georgia will give us the best film on Curtis yet. He has shown he can create outside structure. In his first start against NC State, he produced 341 total yards — 277 passing and 64 rushing — and led a fourth-quarter comeback. Then at Auburn he threw for 199 yards and again led Vanderbilt in rushing with 46 yards.
But the Bulldogs are much higher-caliber of an opponent. Nothing will come easy for Curtis.
