Postgame Points : Ole Miss 27, Vanderbilt 16

Ole Miss defeated Vanderbilt 27-16 Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway. Here are The Rebel Walk’s Postgame Points for the Rebels’ win that keeps them undefeated on the season. 

1. 4-0 September

Few people expected a tight game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday night, but Ole Miss found a way to win. Rebel fans have heard many coaches say that there are no easy wins in the SEC, and Vanderbilt proved that point in hanging close to the Rebels all night. In the end, third-ranked Ole Miss pulled away from the Commodores for a 27-16 win in the SEC home opener.

The Rebels finish September with a perfect 4-0 record for the second straight season. To put that into perspective, the last time Ole Miss posted unbeaten September records in consecutive seasons was a streak of  3 straight years from 1970-1972.

For the Rebels to be sitting at 4-0, 2-0 in the SEC heading into October is a tremendous accomplishment. Ole Miss sits atop the SEC West standings. The Rebels have positioned themselves nicely to continue fighting for an SEC Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. As long as #3 Ole Miss continues to focus and prepare for one opponent at a time, this team has a chance to be extremely special and achieve some lofty postseason dreams.

Laquon Treadwell finished with 8 receptions for 135 yards. (Photo credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)

2. Receivers

Ole Miss receivers accounted for 24 receptions and 321 yards of offense against Vanderbilt. Laquon Treadwell headlined the effort by the receiving corps by grabbing 8 passes for 135 yards. Markell Pack caught 6 passes for 52 yards, while Damore’ea Stringfellow had 4 receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Evan Engram had his biggest night of the season by hauling in 3 passes for 41 yards.

For the game, Chad Kelly and his group of receivers averaged over 13 yards per completion. Likewise, the Rebel receivers contributed 13 first downs to the offensive output.

3. Nkemdiche Brothers

Robert Nkemdiche and Denzel Nkemdiche (Photo credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)

The Nkemdiche brothers made their presence felt against Vanderbilt on both sides of the ball.

Denzel Nkemdiche played his best game of the season in leading the Rebel defense. Denzel had a team-high 14 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 quarterback hurry. His 12 solo tackles are a career-best mark. Denzel seemed to be all over the field and made plays time and time again for the Landsharks.

Not to be outdone by his older brother, Robert Nkemdiche made contributions on both offense and defense in the Rebel victory over the Commodores. Robert produced 4 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a quarterback hurry from his defensive position. He made his lone appearance as a running back count in the biggest way. Robert had 1 rush for just 1 yard, but it resulted in a touchdown that put Ole Miss ahead for good at 20-13 late in the third quarter. Through 4 games, Nkemdiche has 2 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving touchdown.

4. Jaylen Walton

Jaylen Walton rushed for 133 yards against Vanderbilt. (Photo credit: Bentley Breland, The Rebel Walk)

Running back Jaylen Walton had a huge night on the ground for Ole Miss in the win over Vanderbilt. He was responsible for 133 of the Rebels 151 rushing yards on the night. Walton ran for 1 touchdown and averaged over 6 yards per rush.

Going forward, Ole Miss has to be able to run the ball effectively to continue its winning ways in SEC play. On a night in which Vanderbilt held the other Rebel runners in check, it was a great sign to see that Walton found a way to grind out yards to help the team win for the second time in as many SEC games.

5. Special Teams

The final postgame point this week is that special teams played a key role in the Rebels win over Vanderbilt. Cale Luke blocked a punt deep in Commodore territory late in the third quarter with the score tied at 13 apiece. A few plays later, Robert Nkemdiche scored to put the Rebels ahead 20-13, a lead the Rebels would not relinquish the rest of the night.

Speaking of punting, Will Gleeson averaged more than 50 yards per punt on his 4 attempts in the Vanderbilt game. In SEC play, having a punter who can alter field position or pin the opposition deep in their own territory is critical to winning close games.