Ole Miss visits Vanderbilt on Saturday in Nashville. Here are your three keys to an Ole Miss victory.
By Don Yates
1. Corral limits interceptions
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral has played really well this season completing 103 of 153 passes for 1,434 yards and 12 touchdowns. The one area in which Corral has suffered is in interceptions (9). This Vanderbilt team is pretty weak. However, if the Rebels turn the ball over and give the Commodores freebie scores, it could be a very close game. Corral needs to play smart and not pass if it’s not there.
2. Run the ball
Vanderbilt has the second-worst rushing defense in the SEC. The Commodores are allowing 211 yards per game on the ground. They give up an average of 6 1/2 yards per carry rushing. They’ve allowed seven rushing TDs in three games. Lane Kiffin likes to pass but Ole Miss should probably run the ball way more than passing. Running is generally safer than passing and that helps prevent giving underdog Vandy freebie scores. It also eats away time. Sure it would be nice to score a kazillion points, but just getting a victory is far more important.
3. Exploit Vandy special teams
Vandy’s special teams have struggled for the most part this season. The Dore’s have had bad snaps and given up long punt returns. They’ve missed the majority of their field goals. To make matter even worse for the ‘Dores, Vandy’s starting punter, Harrison Smith, is not listed on this week’s Commodore depth chart. So things are going to stressful for the VU special teams. Ole Miss can add to that stress by applying more pressure on punts and maybe taking a gamble or two.
Saturday‘s game kicks off at 3:00 PM CT (4:00 PM ET). Watch on the SEC Network.
Be the first to comment