Ole Miss had a bye week to reflect on the ups and downs of life in the SEC.
Three weeks ago, the Rebels beat LSU and former head coach Lane Kiffin in a battle of top 10 teams that was the most anticipated regular-season game in recent memory. Then came a humbling 52-28 loss at Florida.
Now, No. 9 Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1 SEC) comes out of its off week to face Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2) on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
“I think they came back and responded the right way,” Rebels coach Pete Golding said. “Accountability and ownership come from everyone, and it started with me first. You can’t watch the tape, see certain things and be OK with it. You just can’t. … There’s room for improvement in all three phases, no doubt, starting with me.
“A lot of people have looked in the mirror and asked whether we’re doing everything we can control. That’s all my concern is. Are we going to work our butt off and control the things we can control? If we do that, put our best foot forward and don’t win the game, I’m OK with that because I know if we do it the right way throughout the week and they go all-in and do things right, we’ll win most of them. We have good enough players to do that. But if we don’t, we don’t deserve to (win).”
Ole Miss played without leading rusher Kewan Lacy against Florida because of a shoulder injury suffered against LSU, but Golding said, “I fully anticipate having him this week.”
The return of Lacy who will share the workload if he returns, should be a boost to an offense led by Heisman Trophy contender Trinidad Chambliss at quarterback, but the Rebels rank last in the SEC in scoring defense (30.8), run defense (194.8) and total defense (404.8).
The Commodores won all three of their nonconference games, including a miraculous 35-31 victory against NC State when they recovered a fumble in the end zone in the final seconds.
But since the start of SEC play, the Commodores have lost at Auburn (21-15) and at home against No. 2 Georgia (38-14).
Quarterback Jared Curtis did not play against Georgia due to a knee injury suffered against Auburn, but he returned to practice Tuesday and coach Clark Lea said he’s day-to-day.
Even if Curtis is available, he’ll be leading an offense that is 14th in the SEC in points (25.4) and yards (349.4).
Lea doesn’t expect his offense’s output to match that of Chambliss, Lacy and star wide receiver Deuce Alexander, who lead an offense that averages 322.5 passing yards (No. 1 in the SEC), 440.0 total yards (No. 8) and 35.5 points (No. 9). But it can be effective enough to give Vanderbilt a chance.
“The best defense to (the Rebels’) offense is them not being on the field,” Lea said. “That’s where we need to work all three phases together. Finish drives with kicks. We don’t need to give them extra possessions by turning the ball over. Then also take advantage of explosive moments when they present themselves.”
