Notes and Notables from the Ole Miss win over Vanderbilt

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss picked up another conference win Saturday night, dispatching Vanderbilt 33-7. The victory moves the Rebels to 7-1 overall, 4-1 in the SEC, and keeps their SEC West hopes alive.

Here are some of the news and notables from the win.

Starters of Note

Right guard Jeremy James made his 44th consecutive start, also the 44th start of his career. Other double-digit streaks included CB Deantre Prince (23), QB Jaxson Dart (19), OL Micah Pettus (17), OL Caleb Warren (17) and RB Quinshon Judkins (14).

Rebels with 30 or more career starts who also started today include James (44), Warren (39) and Prince (31). Defensive lineman Akelo Stone made his first start in his Ole Miss career, second overall.

Overall notes

Attendance for the Vanderbilt game was 62,914.

Ole Miss is now 7-1 for the second straight season, the first time doing so in back-to-back years since 1961 (7-1) and 1962 (8-0).

Head coach Lane Kiffin earned his 30th win at Ole Miss. He is officially the second-fastest head coach to 30 wins in Ole Miss history, trailing only Harry Mehre’s 38 games.

Ole Miss is now 297-115-8 (.716) all-time at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Offensive notables

Ole Miss has scored on its opening drive in six out of eight games this season. In three games, the Rebels have had points on the board in under two minutes.

Running back Quinshon Judkins finished with 124 rushing yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, his eighth career multi-rushing touchdown game. Quinshon is now tied for No. 4 all-time with Archie Manning for career rushing touchdowns (25).

Judkins’ 124 yards marks his 11th career 100-yard rushing game and third of the year, improving on his spot at No. 3 in Ole Miss history in career 100-yard games.

Judkins’ 124 yards also moved him up to No. 6 in Ole Miss history in career rushing yards (2,258).

Wide receiver Dayton Wade ended with a career-high night of 120 yards on eight receptions and one touchdown. Wade snagged a career and season-long 48-yard catch for his fifth 40-plus yard reception of the season. Wade has amassed a total of 522 yards this year off of 36 receptions and eclipsed the 1,000 career receiving yard mark.

QB Jaxson Dart completed 19-of-28 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown. Dart now ranks 10th all-time in career passing yards. Dart now has over 5,000 passing yards in his Ole Miss career (5,054).

Defensive notables

Ole Miss held Vanderbilt to just 229 yards of total offense, the fewest since holding Georgia Tech to 214 on Sept. 17, 2022, and the fewest against an SEC opponent since holding Texas A&M to 192 on Oct. 24, 2015. The Commodores were only allowed one play in the first half on Ole Miss’ side of the field.

The Landshark defense also held Vanderbilt to just 60 yards passing, the fewest since holding Baylor to 40 in the 2022 Sugar Bowl, and the fewest against an SEC opponent since stuffing Vanderbilt to 60 yards on Sept. 6, 2014.

Ole Miss has held three consecutive SEC opponents to less than 300 yards of total offense, the first time the Rebel defense has done so since the 2008-09 season (one game in 2008, two games in 2009).

Safety Trey Washington grabbed a career-high two interceptions on the night. First time an Ole Miss player has had two interceptions in a game since A.J. Finley versus Liberty in 2021. Washington is one of 39 players nationally and five within the SEC this season with multiple interceptions in the same game. The two interceptions mark the first time Ole Miss has come up with multiple INTs in three consecutive SEC games since 2014: at Texas A&M (2, Oct. 11), vs. Tennessee (3, Oct. 18) and at LSU (2, Oct. 25).

Ole Miss defense brought down five sacks for a loss of 37 yards to tie a season-high.

DE Cedric Johnson led the Rebels and tallied a career-high of seven tackles, four solo, with a sack, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries. At 17.0 career sacks, Johnson ranks as Ole Miss’ active career leader and also now sits tied for No. 7 in school history.

DE Jared Ivey ended with a career-high 2.5 sacks along with five total tackles. Ivey now holds 9.0 sacks in his Ole Miss career, 10.0 in his career overall, and he’s at a season career-high 5.5 now this year.

DT JJ Pegues tied his career-high and earned a season-high of six tackles with a career-high of two tackles for losses and a sack.

For the second time this season and first against an SEC team, Ole Miss held its opponent scoreless in the first quarter. The Rebels went on to hold the Commodores scoreless through the first half, shutting out their opponent through the first two quarters for the first time since against Georgia Tech in 2022 and the first SEC opponent since Texas A&M in 2021.

Special Teams notes

K Caden Davis drilled 27-yard and 48-yard field goals in the first quarter to move to 13-of-16 on the year and 14-of-20 throughout his career.

P Fraser Masin punted three times on the night for 96 yards with one landing inside the 20.