Defense Vandy, Defense!
Once again, VU will have to play well on
defense in order to beat the Rebels
(1-1 0-0 SEC). Ole Miss ran for 245 yards and passed for 305 yards in a
38-25 home loss to the Missouri Tigers. BJ Green-Ellis ran for 226 yards
and a touchdown against the Tigers. However, the Ole Miss ground game has
been inconsistent. They ran for only 74 yards against Memphis. Once
again, Vandy’s defensive front will have to step up to stop the run
game. Vanderbilt gave up a lot of rushing yards to Alabama. In
particular, Vanderbilt had trouble stopping the run to the right side of the
field. Steven Stone, Marcus Buggs, and Curtis Gatewood will all have to
play hard and well. Vanderbilt will need help from other less-known
players, and must avoid sloppy tackling.
D.J. Moore will be a big factor in
stopping the Rebel air attack from former walk-on Seth Adams. Adams threw
for 305 yards and 3 touchdowns with one interception against
Missouri. Expect D.J. Moore to match up with Mike Wallace, who caught seven
passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. Last week, Vanderbilt got good
pressure on Jon Parker Wilson, causing him to complete only 50% of his
passes along with an interception. Vanderbilt’s defensive line and
linebackers got good pressure on Wilson, but tended to allow long screen
passes. They will have to have some players devoted to taking away the
screen pass.
Special teams not so special
The most important area for improvement
for the Commodores is their special teams. Placekicking was not bad for the
Dores, but they must improve kick-off and punt coverage. After allowing
Alabama to return a punt to Vanderbilt’s 1 yard line after the first failed
drive, Vanderbilt must tighten up the screws. Ole Miss did not return any
of the 5 Missouri punts, but they averaged 24 yards for each kickoff
return. Vanderbilt will have to cover the right side of the field in
particular on punts and kickoffs. Ole Miss has been sub par on special
teams as well. Their placekicking has been inconsistent, as has their
return games.
It’ll be interesting to see…
How well will Chris Nickson respond to
last week’s performance? Will he be able to recover from a sore hamstring
that bothered him against Alabama? Will he be able to recover from a poor
performance? Ole Miss’s pass defense has been inconsistent. Against
Memphis, they intercepted a pass (one of four interceptions) for a touchdown
that gave them a 23-21 win over the tigers. However, against Missouri, Ole
Miss gave up 330 yards and five touchdowns through the air. They also gave
up 218 rushing yards against the tigers of Missouri. If Chris Nickson can
play well, as well as get involved in the running game, Vanderbilt can put a lot
of points on the board. If Jeff Jennings and Cassen Jackson-Garrison can
provide a solid ground game, the Dores will put up a lot of offense.
Last Meeting: UM 17 VU 10 (2006 in Oxford, MS)