OXFORD — Shea Patterson threw for 351 yards and four touchdowns and Mississippi beat Vanderbilt 57-35 on Saturday.
“We knew we could move the ball early,” Patterson said. “Our receivers and offensive linemen were doing a great job and we were moving the ball well. Our emphasis was on finishing drives. Last week we did not do that. We knew we would have to finish drives to put up points and that 14 or 21 points would not be enough to win the game.”
Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) snapped its three-game losing streak while Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-4) has now lost four straight.
“It was a totally different feeling on the sideline this week,” head coach Matt Luke said. “It was just good to see our kids smiling and playing football and see our defense flying around.”
Vanderbilt led 14-7 in the second quarter after Ralph Webb ran for two touchdowns, but Ole Miss responded with 28 straight points in less than seven minutes. The offensive avalanche was helped by two Vanderbilt turnovers that gave the Rebels excellent field position.
Ole Miss kept the momentum early in the third quarter, earning a safety after forcing Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur to fumble into the end zone. Less than a minute later, Patterson hit A.J. Brown for a 29-yard touchdown pass and a 44-21 lead and the game was no longer in doubt.
This was without a doubt Ole Miss' most complete game of the season. For most of the week, players and coaches alike repeatedly pointed to the second half at Auburn being a turning point in the season. If nothing else, it was something positive to build off of and the Rebels parlayed that into Luke’s first SEC win as a head coach.
“We talked about building off of the momentum from last week and I don’t think it was just words,” Luke said. “I think it was tangible, the energy on the sideline was tangible. It carried over to practice and into the sideline this week.”
Brown caught eight passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. DaMarkus Lodge also caught two touchdown passes.
“It is always great when we can run the ball,” Brown said. “It opens up a lot of things down the field.”
Shurmur threw for 174 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Commodores. Webb ran for 163 yards and two touchdowns.
The Takeaway
• Ole Miss: It’s a much-needed win for the Rebels, who were embarrassed while giving up a combined 110 points in back-to-back losses to Alabama and Auburn. The Ole Miss passing game was very good on Saturday, but the real surprise was a solid running game, led by 113 yards on the ground from Jordan Wilkins. The defense — led by a huge game from defensive end Marquis Haynes — put a ton of pressure on Shurmur.
Haynes was near the football on nearly every play. He forced two Shurmer fumbles. One in the first half that resulted in seven points surely after, and another on the opening drive of the second half that resulted in a safety and a quick pop in the mouth to a Vanderbilt team that was barely hanging around in the game.
• Vanderbilt: It’s been a prolonged collapse for the Commodores, which had high hopes for their season after beating Kansas State on Sept. 16 to move to 3-0. The defense was porous again in the program’s fourth loss in a row.
Up Next
Ole Miss hosts LSU next Saturday. Vanderbilt has a week off before going to South Carolina on Oct. 28.
