GAME PERSONNEL
KEY MATCHUP: While Vanderbilt’s Vaughn will be a handful, and the Rebels will also want to get pressure on quarterback Kyle Shurmur.
Shurmur has a 140.4 passer rating which is middle of the pack in the SEC, but in the last two seasons against Ole Miss he’s thrown four touchdown passes with only one interception.
Ole Miss was better in the secondary against Texas A&M compared to South Carolina when Gamecocks receivers were often unchallenged on big-gainers.
Ole Miss will have a better pass rush against Shurmur if it can improve its blitz angles. Defensive coordinator Wesley McGriff says he’s looking specifically for ways to improve the rush from the outside. He’ll start with calling it more, he said.
DRAFT SLANT:
–Wide receiver DaMarkus Lodge improved his stock in his home state with six catches for 122 yards. Lodge had a couple of physical grabs while covered and showed good speed to reach the end zone on a 51-yard play. He averaged 20.3 yards per catch.
ROSTER REPORT
–WR A.J. Brown had six catches for 127 yards against A&M and in the process passed Shay Hodge to become Ole Miss’ all-time leader in receiving yards. He heads into the Vanderbilt game with 2,711 career yards. A projected early first-round draft pick as a junior, Brown has 72 catches for 1,047 yards and five touchdowns this season. He has become the first Ole Miss receiver to post two 1,000-yard seasons.
–QB Jordan Ta’amu passed for 373 yards against Texas A&M. He’s tied with Chad Kelly on the school’s list of 300-yard passing games in a season. Ta’amu has 10 such games in his career which now includes 15 starts. He begins the week third in the SEC and No. 17 nationally with a 159.2 passer rating.
–SS Zedrick Woods didn’t set a record with his 96-yard fumble return against the Aggies. However, it was the Rebels’ longest since 1914. That’s when “Pinky” Roberts returned one 99 yards against LSU. It was the second career touchdown for Woods who returned an interception 31 yards against Memphis in 2016.
–LB Mohamed Sanogo tied a career-high with 16 tackles against the Aggies. He is the first Ole Miss player in 17 years to record at least 16 tackles in one game. Sanogo leads Ole Miss with 92 tackles,
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