RebelSports.net - Rebels pounce on Vandy, set up showdown with Tide

October 3, 2009

Neal McCready
Senior Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- CBS didn't wait until Ole Miss' game Saturday night was over before announcing it would televise the Rebels' game next weekend against No. 3 Alabama.

The network's show of faith was quickly rewarded with a 23-7 win over Vanderbilt in front of 39,625 fans at Vanderbilt Stadium.

Nine days after struggling to find any offensive continuity in a 16-10 loss at South Carolina, the Rebels' offense put together three scoring drives in the first half, hurting Vanderbilt through the air and on the ground and out of various formations.

The Rebels' defense, meanwhile, picked up where it left off in the fourth quarter at South Carolina, holding the Commodores without a completed pass until the third quarter.

That combination enabled the 21st-ranked Rebels to jump ahead of Vanderbilt early, pull away in the second quarter and then hold on for a fairly convincing win.

"There is nothing like a celebrating locker room after a big win," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said. "Our team prepared well this week and they worked hard for this win. Last weekend at South Carolina was very disappointing for us, so we had to pull it back together. We needed this win tonight in the worst way."

Ole Miss improved to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference in advance of next weekend's 2:30 p.m. showdown against the unbeaten Crimson Tide at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, a game the Rebels will likely have to win to harbor any chance at an SEC West title.

Vanderbilt fell to 2-3 overall and 0-3 in the league.

Ole Miss scored on its first offensive possession, driving 55 yards on 11 plays before settling for Joshua Shene's 20-yard field goal one play after Gerald Harris dropped an apparent touchdown pass from Jevan Snead in the end zone.

Snead still added to his touchdown totals. The Rebels' junior quarterback, who completed just seven of 21 passes at South Carolina, directed a 15-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Shay Hodge with 10:18 left in the second quarter.

"They had a good gameplan in the first half with throwing short passes," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "We played fairly good on defense but they had a good plan to run the ball if we had their passing game covered and executed it."

Snead connected with running back Brandon Bolden on a 12-yard touchdown pass late in the first half to extend the Rebels' lead to 17-0 and then added another touchdown pass to Hodge, this one from seven yards out, to give Ole Miss a commanding 23-0 lead with 10:59 left in the third quarter.

"I was proud of the offense in the first half and I thought we executed our gameplan," Nutt said. "Jevan Snead was on fire right out of the gate and Shay Hodge made some great catches for us. Brandon Bolden was a warrior for us tonight. He is very physical when he has the ball, and when his is clicking he does a lot of great things for our football team."

A Snead interception, his third of the night, led to Vanderbilt's lone score of the night. The Commodores capitalized on the Snead miscue with a seven-play, 34-yard scoring drive, culminating with Larry Smith's 7-yard touchdown pass to Udom Umoh with 5:54 left in the third quarter.

"We were executing the offensie very well to start, but then we started forcing things and he needs to either drop it off to the back or throw it away," Nutt said.

Vanderbilt had a pair of additional scoring opportunities in the second half. However, Marcus Temple killed one of those chances with an interception in the end zone and Greg Hardy batted down a fourth-down pass from Smith late in the fourth quarter at the Ole Miss 12-yard line.

Ole Miss' defense limited Vanderbilt to just 240 yards of total offense, including just 69 yards through the air. Smith, who has hit frequently and harassed constantly, finished 10-of-27 passing.

"I thought our defense was outstanding," Nutt said. "We put their offense in some bad situations tonight and I thought a bunch of guys stepped up on that side of the ball."

Ole Miss' offense, meanwhile, gained 397 yards on 77 snaps. Bolden led the Rebels' rushing attack with 89 yards on 16 carries. Snead was 19-for-34 passing for 237 yards and three touchdowns. Shay Hodge caught eight passes for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Bolden added three catches for 22 yards and a score.

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