Ole Miss demolishes Vanderbilt on homecoming night

The Ole Miss Rebels are 7-1 to start the season for a second year in a row for the first time since 1961-62 as it completely dominated Vanderbilt, 33-6.

Quinshon Judkins rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns to lead the running game while Dayton Wade hauled in eight catches for 120 yards and a touchdown on the night. Jaxson Dart had a solid game under center going 19 for 28 passing with a touchdown and one interception.

The Rebels defense, however, was running on all cylinders with Trey Washington snagging two interceptions and the team combining for five sacks for the game. Jared Ivey led all defensive players with 2.5 sacks as Cedric Johnson led the team in total tackles with seven.

Vanderbilt’s offense only managed to put up 229 yards of offense which is the lowest total allowed by an Ole Miss defense in an SEC game since 2015. Saturday’s win also marked Lane Kiffin’s 30th win as the head coach at Ole Miss with an overall record now of 30-14.

When I parked on campus around 1 p.m. and made it to the Grove, I really thought the crowd was going to be disappointing. It was pretty easy getting around traffic, there was a couple patches of open space near our tent setup, and until about two hours before the kickoff there was just not many people period. But damn if the fans didn’t show up en masse once the Walk of Champions finished, and attendance again topped 62,000 in a full Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Now fans certainly began to file out in the third quarter after Ole Miss built a 26-0 lead, but if I’ll say the first quarter interception by Washington, things got pretty damn loud in the Vaught.

Another thing for Ole Miss fans to watch for is the climb by Judkins up the Rebels career rushing list. After Saturday, Judkins sits at number seven all time passing Jerrion Ealy. Here’s who is ahead of him with four regular season games and a bowl game left to be played this year.

Ole Miss Career Rushing Leaders

• Deuce McAllister - 3,060
• Joe Gunn - 2,749
• Kayo Dottley - 2,654
• Brandon Bolden - 2,604
• Dou Innocent - 2,322
• Jeff Scott - 2,297
• Quinshon Judkins - 2,258

So yeah, it’s unlikely Judkins tops the 3,000 yard mark this season, but it is very possible he could be second all time by the end of the bowl game. That would give him an entire junior season to solidify himself as one of the best running backs in Ole Miss history. Keep on keeping on Quinshon.

It’s another Ole Miss win, and depending on the Alabama-LSU outcome, things could get very interesting in November. For now though, the coffee tastes damn good on Sunday morning.