Week one of the 2014 college football season had it’s moments. We had the “well of course they won” games and then those “wow…they aren’t very good this year” games. Then there was the Texas A&M/South Carolina game, but we won’t go there.
Vanderbilt had one of those “wow…they aren’t very good” kind of games in week one, when they lost 37-7 at home to the Temple Owls. No disrespect to Temple, but they don’t usually go into SEC stadiums and come out with 30-point victories. Vanderbilt is in year one of the Derek Mason era, and the ship on the 2014 season is quickly sinking.
They are staring down the barrel of the SEC opener this Saturday versus No. 15 Ole Miss who has something to prove in Nashville. In the past ten years, Vanderbilt has won six of the ten contests. Ole Miss is sick of Vanderbilt being the thorn in the Rebel side, and Hugh Freeze’s squad looks to punch holes in the black and gold ship.
Ole Miss comes into Nashville after defeating Boise State 35-13 in their opener led by the passing attack (in the second half) of QB Bo Wallace. Wallace went 25-36 and had 387 yards with 4 touchdowns and three interceptions. All three of those picks came in the first half and were all poor decisions according to Coach Hugh Freeze.
“Two of the three interceptions just were a bit unbelievable to us because they weren’t even in his progression on the route,” Freeze said.
The Rebel coach added, “he was a little out of sync, but I thought he really played well in the second half for sure.”
Wallace led the Rebel offense to 458 yards of total offense on the night, with some help from Junior WR Cody Core. Core caught four passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns for Ole Miss, which was a career night for the junior from Auburn, Ala.
Vanderbilt turned the ball over seven times, three being interceptions in the loss to Temple. We saw three quarterbacks including Stephen Rivers, Patton Robinette and Johnny McCrary throughout the game. Odds are you will probably see more Rivers and Robinette in the game against Ole Miss Saturday.
“This loss is no different than a Notre Dame overtime loss”, Head Coach Derek Mason said, “a loss is a loss, whether it’s 7-6 or 37-7….I don’t know what team can win with seven turnovers. We’ll get it right.”
Mason looks to avenge the loss with a big upset victory over No. 15 Ole Miss at LP Field this weekend. LP Field is the home of the Tennessee Titans, where Vandy is 2-2 over the years. Their most recent appearance was a 38-24 victory over NC State in 2012.
The Rebels and Dores kickoff at 3:30 CT Saturday at LP Field on ESPN. For full scouting reports or affiliate information visit OleMissSports.com for Ole Miss, and VUCommodores.com for Vanderbilt.
Connor Hennessey is a writer and radio host in Oxford, Miss. He can be reached by email at cmhennes@go.olemiss.edu or @ConnorHennes on Twitter. Visit OleMissSports.com for up-to-date information pertaining to the Ole Miss Rebels.
