Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt football 2019: Preview and predictions

Well, last weekend wasn’t so bad. Sure it was 59-31, but it wasn’t 62-7 or 66-3 so that’s certainly a nice change of pace, right?

Let’s move on.

This week, Ole Miss welcomes in Vanderbilt for homecoming festivities and a chance to get to .500 before the meat of the schedule gets here. After entertaining the ‘Dores on Saturday night, the Rebs will then travel to Missouri, host Texas A&M, and then play New Mexico State sandwiched between Auburn and LSU before finishing off the season on the road against Mississippi State.

Wins are coming at a premium right now, and the Rebels desperately need one against Derek Mason this weekend. Another thing that is desperately needed is for Mason and his staff to know which quarterback they should prepare for. Matt Corral is more than likely going to be playing coming off bruised ribs but then you have true freshmen John Rhys Plumlee and Grant Tisdale who have impressed so far this year.

Maybe Ole Miss decides to play coy and keep it a secret so their opponents have to prepare for all three of them? Time will tell.

Until then, here’s how we think Saturday will pan out.

Red Cup Panel Predictions

Bob Lynch — Ole Miss 35, Vanderbilt 31

I have no idea at all. I think Ole Miss should probably score a good bit, but I also don’t think we’ll avoid our tendency to play up/down to Vanderbilt’s level. It’ll be a close, and I’ll choose to be optimistic this week because I’ll actually be at the game and I want to will a win into existence.

One Man To Beat — Ole Miss 27, Vanderbilt 21

The Rebels ensure another season of Matt Luke by gutting out a win over an inspired Vanderbilt team. Late kickoff time has more than 45,000 in the stands for homecoming and a decent atmosphere.

whiskeywednesday — Ole Miss 31, Vanderbilt 30

This could be a much more comfortable game if the Ole Miss secondary comes to play, but that hasn’t been the case the past few weeks. The young Rebel skill players continue to get comfortable and make a lot of good things happen.

TwoYardsandaCloudofEnricky — Ole Miss 35, Vanderbilt 21

Rich Rodriguez lets out a lot of frustration on Vanderbilt by just running the ball at them non-stop. Explosive plays from John Rhys Plumlee and Jerrion Ealy result in a big Ole Miss lead at half. After another third quarter slump that lets the Commodores back in it a bit, we close them out and run clock.

Ben Woodhouse — Ole Miss 38, Vanderbilt 28

Rebs win behind the running attack of John Rhys Plumlee, Jerrion Ealy, and Scottie Phillips.

Gray Hardison — Ole Miss 26, Vanderbilt 25

Assuming John Rhys Plumlee starts, Vanderbilt won’t have to figure out on the fly what he is capable of doing. The Alabama film gives them a heads up, which means life on offense for Ole Miss gets tougher. The good news is that Vanderbilt is 102nd in yards per completion, meaning the Commodores may not be able to consistently take advantage of a not great Ole Miss secondary. Surely this won’t be three and a half stressful hours, right?

Zach Berry — Ole Miss 48, Vanderbilt 17

This has a similar feel to the 2017 edition of this game. I don’t think it matters who plays quarterback for Ole Miss because the Rebels have multiple options on offense that can expose this 2019 edition of the Vanderbilt defense. The run defense has been stout all season so unless Riley Neal can light them up, I like the home team here.

Juco All-American — Ole Miss 35, Vanderbilt 17

I expect the game plan to center around John Rhys Plumlee, Jerrion Ealy, and Snoop Conner being too fast for Vanderbilt. I’m not sure that approach is going to work in a ton of games this year, but it will against Vanderbilt. Defensively, this isn’t too tough of a task for the Rebels, but bad teams have scored a good bit against them this season, so who knows?

Michael Borkey — Ole Miss 35, Vanderbilt 31

Matt Corral, John Rhys Plumlee, it doesn’t really matter who takes the most most snaps. Ole Miss has made strides with their young athletes on offense (and defense as well, even in a blowout loss last week, it’s clear they’re improved) and I think there’s a culmination this week. They have to have this one and I think they will. Convincingly.

Christoph Ludwig — Ole Miss 35, Vanderbilt 30

John Rhys Plumlee and Scottie Phillips carry the offense and the defense is able to get stops when it matters.

Nicholas Carr — Ole Miss 38, Vanderbilt 10

Vanderbilt sucks. They’re bad offensively and that’s the strength of the team. Rebs get up early and roll.

Grayson Weir — Ole Miss 31, Vanderbilt 24

Run until you can’t run no more! And when you can’t run no more, find Elijah Moore.

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How to watch:

Where: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Miss.
When: 6:30 p.m. CST
TV: SEC Network
Online streaming: WatchESPN