SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 10, 2012
Vanderbilt 27, Mississippi 26: Jordan Rodgers hit Chris Boyd for a 26-yard touchdown with 52 seconds remaining as the visiting Commodores earned bowl eligibility for the second consecutive season for the first time in school history.
Down 23-6 early in the third quarter, Vanderbilt (6-4, 4-3 SEC) rallied. Rodgers hit Jordan Matthews with a 52-yard touchdown pass with 9:52 left in the third quarter to start the Commodores’ comeback.
Mississippi (5-5, 2-4 SEC) used three Bryson Rose field goals and two touchdowns from quarterback Bo Wallace to build a 23-6 lead. Vanderbilt, which lost leading rusher Zac Stacy to a right leg injury in the first quarter, pulled within 23-20 on Wesley Tate’s 2-yard touchdown with 2:33 left in the third quarter.
The Rebels went up 26-20 on Rose’s fourth field goal, from 27 yards, with 2:43 remaining. Rodgers picked up three yards on fourth-and-2 from the Commodores’ 46, then found Boyd down the left sideline four plays later for the game winner.
Rodgers completed 20 of 35 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns. Wallace finished 31-for-49 for 403 yards. The Rebels rushed for only 55 yards.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Stacy was lost on his second carry of the night. Tate and Brian Kimbrow took over the main rushing duties in Stacy’s absence. … Rose made field goals from 22, 28, 41 and 27 yards. … Mississippi needs one more victory to gain bowl eligibility for the first time since 2009.