Mississippi @ Vanderbilt preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 14, 2017 ) Vanderbilt 35, Mississippi 57

With each team aiming for their second victory in seven attempts against SEC opponents, Ole Miss will go on the road to face Vanderbilt on Saturday night looking to end the Commodores chances at bowl eligibility. Vanderbilt couldn’t pull out a win in a closely contested game against Missouri last week while a historic performance from wide receiver A.J. Brown wasn’t enough for the Rebels as they were defeated by Texas A&M.

With 127 yards in the Rebels 38-24 loss to the Aggies, Brown became Ole Miss’ all-time leading receiver with 2,711 yards and became the first Rebel receiver to surpass 1,000 yards in a season twice. Brown did his best to carry an offense that saw running back Scottie Phillips, who leads the SEC with 12 rushing touchdowns, leave the game after suffering an ankle injury on the second drive of the game and not return. Vanderbilt’s defense gave itself multiple chances to pull out a win before falling 33-28 to Missouri as the Commodores' offense couldn’t capitalize, going four-and-out after a Frank Coppet interception with less than six minutes left and a failed last-second heave after a missed 31-yard field goal by the Tigers with less than two minutes remaining. Vanderbilt's two interceptions against Missouri brought its season total to nine - the most in coach Derek Mason’s five-year tenure - and it has more than twice as many takeaways as a year ago.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network. LINE: Vanderbilt -3

ABOUT OLE MISS (5-5, 1-5 SEC): The defense was led Saturday by senior Zedrick Woods, who returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown to open the second half, and sophomore Mohamed Sanogo, who recorded a team-high 16 tackles for the second time this season. Freshman Isaiah Woullard filled in for the injured Phillips and set career highs with 64 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Jordan Ta’amu continued to show his offensive prowess, throwing for 373 yards and a touchdown while adding a score on the ground for his sixth rushing TD of the season.

ABOUT VANDERBILT (4-6, 1-5): Running back Ke’Shawn Vaughn scored a 65-yard touchdown two minutes into Saturday’s game and finished with 182 rushing yards, the most for a Commodores back in an SEC contest. Senior quarterback Kyle Shurmur orchestrated five drives of 70 or more yards and completed 24-of-35 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Shurmur connected with eight receivers as juniors Kalija Lipscomb and Jared Pinkney led the way with 99 and 88 yards, and each had a score.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Ta’amu is the only quarterback in the SEC, and one of only eight nationally, with 3,000 or more yards passing.

2. Shurmur needs 677 yards through the air with three TDs in his final two games to pass Jay Cutler and set Vanderbilt records for passing yards and touchdowns. The senior will likely finish his career second behind Cutler in completions and attempts.

3. This game will feature the top two receivers in the SEC as Brown leads the conference in yardage (1,047) and receptions with 72 and Lipscomb sits second with 66 catches and is third with 731 yards.

PREDICTION: Vanderbilt 35, Ole Miss 31