The Ole Miss Rebels head to Nashville to face the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday afternoon. The Rebels are coming off a bye week after losing a tough game on the road to Florida. Trinidad Chambliss played well, but without his backfield running mate, Kewan Lacy, it just wasn’t enough, especially in a tough letdown spot following the LSU win. Vanderbilt is now 0-2 in SEC play, losing to both Auburn and Georgia. They played the Georgia game without their starting QB, but they expect him back this weekend (but as always, monitor the injury reports here). Home field matters, but Ole Miss has a substantial talent advantage. I am taking the Rebels -9.5.
I am skeptical of Vandy at this point. Their defense looks like it has depth, but maybe not the top end talent they need to deal with the best of the SEC offenses, of which Ole Miss is certainly one. With Lacy and Chambliss both in the backfield this week, this offense is multiple and just about impossible to defend well, and Vandy should be overmatched. On the other side, the Rebel defense was embarrassed by Florida a couple weeks ago, and they should be wanting to bounce back with a more decisive performance this week. I think Ole Miss is going to roll here, even on the road.
Ole Miss vs Vanderbilt Prediction: Ole Miss -9.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable to -12.5.
