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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Football Team Travels to Vanderbilt
6/21/1999 | Football
September 15, 1998
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss Rebels will hit the road for the first time this season as the team travels to Vanderbilt on Saturday for its second Southeastern Conference game of the year. Jefferson-Pilot will televise the game with the kickoff scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
Ole Miss, 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the SEC, is coming off a 17-0 loss to Auburn after defeating Memphis 30-10 in the season opener.
"Last week's game was a major disappointment," Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville said. "The fact was we didn't get the job done and that begins with myself. I don't think I did a good enough job preparing our team for what they were going to face. We tried to talk about the positives that came out of our first game, but we didn't do a good enough job talking about what Auburn was going to come out and prove after their season-opening loss. I take the blame for that."
Although Ole Miss recorded only 136 yards of total offense while Auburn racked up 301 total yards, Tuberville said the mistakes the Rebels made will help prepare them better in the future.
"I think we got caught by surprise by how good Auburn's defense was," Tuberville said. "We tried to tell our players it was going to be one of the best defenses that we would face all year, and sometimes after you have a big win that doesn't soak through. I think that now our guys have learned that we have to be physically and mentally ready to play."
Vanderbilt is 0-2 on the year after losing 42-0 at Mississippi State and 32-7 at Alabama, but Tuberville said he expects a tough game from the Commodores.
"I am looking forward to this game," Tuberville said. "They are probably one of the best coached teams in the league. (Vanderbilt head coach Woody) Widenhofer has brought in a defensive scheme that's really taken the conference by storm, so to speak. He does a great job with his athletes."
With only five seniors on the team, Tuberville is looking forward to seeing how his young team handles its first road game.
"It is the first time some of our kids had ever played in another stadium," Tuberville said. "We will find out how they react. It will be an interesting game."
