Game Primer: Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt

			OLE MISS (2-3, 1-1 SEC) vs. VANDERBILT (1-3, 0-2 SEC) Saturday, Oct. 5 • 6:30 p.m. • Oxford, Miss. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium (64,038)
Watch • Live Stats • Listen • Buy Tickets • Gameday Info Ole Miss Game Notes • Vanderbilt Game Notes • SEC Game Notes

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• This is the 92nd Homecoming game at Ole Miss since 1924 ... The Rebels are 69-15-2 all-time (after vacated wins) and have won 20 of their last 22 on the field, including a 57-35 victory over Vanderbilt in 2017.
• Saturday marks the 94th meeting between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt dating back to 1894.
• It is the third-most played series of all-time between Ole Miss and its 2019 opponents (Mississippi State, LSU).
• The Rebels lead the series 49-40-2 overall ... The original record vs. the Commodores is 51-40-2, with wins in 2013 and 2014 by Ole Miss vacated due to NCAA ruling.
• The Rebel offense is coming off a week in which they set a season high in rushing yards (279) vs. No. 2 Alabama ... It was the most rushing yards allowed by a Crimson Tide defense since 2011.
• Against No. 2 Alabama, freshmen helped account for 446 of Ole Miss' 476 yards of total offense (93.7 percent) and four TDs.
• The Rebels lead the conference and rank 22nd in the NCAA with just 5.2 penalties per game.
• Ole Miss has used the RPO (run-pass option) concept on 40.5 percent of their offensive plays this year, most in the SEC.
• RB/KR Jerrion Ealy is the first player since 2012 (Jaylen Walton) to record a rushing, receiving and return touchdown in the same season.
• RB Scottie Phillips ranks fourth in the conference in rushing touchdowns with four.
• Ole Miss' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will host Mac Brown's Awesome Lemonade Stand prior to the Rebels' game vs. Vanderbilt ... All proceeds will go to ALS research.

OLE MISS HEAD COACH MATT LUKE
Matt Luke (Ole Miss, 2000) is in his 12th season at Ole Miss and third season at the helm, taking the reins of his alma mater as the 38th head coach in program history. He was born a Rebel as his family has ties to Ole Miss that span three generations. During his 25 years as a player and coach at the collegiate level, Luke has risen through the ranks while learning from a number of successful veteran coaches. He has worked alongside national champion Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe and former Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville, among others. Luke, a four-year center for the Rebels (1995-98), spent five seasons as the team's co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach before being promoted to interim head coach for the 2017 season. During his first stop in Oxford (2002-05), he served four seasons coaching the Ole Miss tight ends and offensive line under Cutcliffe. Following his playing career, he served as a student assistant coach at Ole Miss in 1999, helping the Rebels to an 8-4 mark with regular-season wins against Auburn, South Carolina, LSU and Arkansas as well as a 27-25 triumph over Oklahoma in the Independence Bowl. He graduated in May 2000 with a degree in business administration. His father, Tommy, was a defensive back at Ole Miss in the 1960s while his brother, Tom, quarterbacked the Rebels from 1989-91. Tom is also on the Ole Miss football staff as assistant athletics director for player development.

VANDERBILT HEAD COACH DEREK MASON
Derek Mason (Northern Arizona, 1993) is in his sixth year as Vanderbilt's head coach and has a 25-41 record with the Commodores, including a 1-3 mark so far this season. In 2018, Mason led Vanderbilt to a 6-6 record during the regular season to earn a bowl berth for the second time in the last three years. Prior to coming to Vandy in 2014, he served as associate head coach and Willie Shaw Director of Defense for the Stanford Cardinal from 2011-13 and helped Stanford win consecutive Pac-12 championships and make back-to-back Rose Bowl appearances. Mason was a finalist for the Broyles Award (nation's top assistant) in 2012. Before going to Palo Alto, Mason coached in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings (2007-09). His pro career also included stops with the St. Louis Rams, New York Giants and Oakland Raiders. Other college stops include Ohio University, New Mexico State, Bucknell, Idaho State and Weber State.

COMMODORE SCOUTING REPORT
Vanderbilt is 1-3 overall and 0-2 in conference play entering this week's game with Ole Miss and is coming off their first win of the season, a 24-18 victory over Northern Illinois. The Commodores are averaging 366 yards of total offense per game, with 237 coming through the air and 129 yards per game on the ground. The signal-caller for Vandy is Riley Neal, a graduate transfer from Ball State. Neal ranks six in the SEC averaging 214.5 yards through the air on the season. Neal is completing 62.2 percent of his passes on the season, with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Neal's top target has been Kalija Lipscomb. The senior wide receiver has hauled in 23 catches for 268 yards and two TDs. Lipscomb ranks seventh in the SEC with 5.8 receptions per games. Junior Ke'Shawn Vaughn leads the Vandy rushing attack, averaging 99.5 yards rushing per game, the second-best average in the SEC. Vanderbilt is second in the SEC and 15th nationally, only turning the ball over four times this season. Defensively, the Commodores are allowing over 501 yards and 39.0 points per game. Vandy gives up over 340 yards passing per game. Redshirt freshman safety Dashaun Jerkins leads the Commodores with 7.0 tackles per game.

OLE MISS-VANDERBILT SERIES HISTORY
• This is the 94th meeting all-time between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.
• It is the third-most played series of all-time between Ole Miss and its 2019 opponents (Mississippi State, LSU).
• The Rebels lead the series 49-40-2 overall.
• The original record vs. the Commodores is 51-40-2, with wins in 2013 and 2014 by Ole Miss vacated due to NCAA ruling.
• Ole Miss has won four of the last six contests on the field vs. Vandy, including two straight in Oxford.

TENNESSEE REBELS
The Ole Miss roster features nine players who hail from Tennessee: OL Nic Cantu (Memphis), OL Alex Givens (Nashville), OLB Luke Knox (Brentwood), OL Bryce Mathews (Brentwood), TE Sam Murphey (Paris), LS Jack Propst (Brentwood), QB Sellers Shy (Memphis), DE Tariqious Tisdale (Lexington), K Isaac Way (Franklin).

AWESOME LEMONADE STAND COMING TO OXFORD
Ole Miss' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will host Mac Brown's Awesome Lemonade Stand prior to the Rebels' game vs. Vanderbilt. All proceeds will go to ALS research. When he was in seventh grade, Brown had a modest goal of raising $500 for a childhood friend's dad who had been diagnosed with ALS. Along with a group of neighborhood friends, Brown started the Awesome Lemonade Stand, in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to help his friend's family. Eight years later, that $500 goal has ballooned to nearly $70,000 raised by Brown and his friends. The lemonade stand will be located in the Coca-Cola Rebel Fan Fest and will open three hours before kickoff and close at the same time the Fan Fest ends. SAAC sell both lemonade and frozen lemonade cups.

HOMECOMING AT OLE MISS
• This is the 92nd Homecoming game at Ole Miss since 1924.
• The Rebels are 69-15-2 (.814 winning pct.) in Homecoming games (after vacated wins).
• Ole Miss has won 20 of their last 22 Homecoming matchups on the field.
• Ole Miss defeated Vanderbilt 57-35 on Homecoming in 2017.
• The last Homecoming loss was a 27-7 defeat to Louisiana Tech in 2011.

REBELS VERSUS THE SEC EAST
• Since the SEC started divisional play in 1992, Ole Miss is 31-38 (.449 winning percentage) vs. the Eastern Division.
• The Rebels and Commodores have met every season since divisional play started, and Ole Miss leads 15-10.
• Ole Miss is 18-16 (.529 win pct.) against SEC East schools at home.

REBEL-COMMODORE CONNECTIONS
• Eight Brentwood Academy alums will be on the field or sidelines when Ole Miss and Vanderbilt face off ... Ole Miss LB Luke Knox, OL Bryce Mathews, LS Jack Propst, K Isaac Way were all teammates with the Commodores' DL Nate Clifton, WR Cam Johnson, TE Gavin Schoenwald and P Harrison Smith for the Eagles.
• The Rebels' WR Elijah Moore was teammates with Vanderbilts' Frank Coppet, Julian Hernandez, Grant Miller, Lashawn Paulino-Bell, Tyler Steen and DC Williams at St. Thomas Aquinas HS in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
• Ole Miss sophomore OL Alex Givens and Vanderbilt junior WR Keithian Starling were teammates at Nashville Christian School in Nashville, Tennessee.
• DB Jakorey Hawkins and OLB Sam Williams both attended Lee HS with Vanderbilt's Malik Langham.
• OL Nic Cantu and Vanderbilt's Christian James played at Christian Brothers in Memphis, Tennessee.

MORE MOORE = LESS DROPS
WR Elijah Moore hauled in three more catches vs. Alabama, bringing his season total to 32, all without a single drop. Moore has the most catches of any SEC receiver without a drop to start the 2019 season and his 89.8 drop grade leads the conference accordingly. Looking at all Power 5 receivers, only Devin Duvernay of Texas has more catches (40) to start the year without a drop than Moore. Moore has been an ever-reliable target for the Ole Miss offense this year and it shows in his first down/touchdown conversion numbers as well. He now has 19 catches that have either gone for a first down or TD (16 first downs, three TDs), and that figure ties for fourth best among all SEC receivers this season.

RUN-JRP
Making his first collegiate start, QB John Rhys Plumlee accounted for 250 yards and three touchdowns at No. 2 Alabama. His 25 rushing attempts were the most by an Ole Miss quarterback since at least 1997. Plumlee's 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was the earliest Alabama had allowed a touchdown all season and was just the second first quarter TD allowed by the Crimson Tide. Plumlee was the leading rusher for an Ole Miss offense that pilled up 279 rushing yards vs. Alabama, the most given up by a Crimson Tide defense since 2011.

A SPECIAL WEAPON
Through the first five games of the season, P Mac Brown has averaged 44.7 yards per punt. Seven of Brown's 24 punts this season have been more than 50 yards. Brown, a member of the Wuerffel Trophy watch list and Ray Guy Award Watch List, only had six punts that surpassed 50 yards last season.

FRESHMEN IMPACT
• 82.1 percent of Ole Miss' offense (1,737 of 2,116 yards) have come from freshmen, the most by any team in the country.
• 12 of Ole Miss' 16 touchdowns on the season have come from freshmen.
• Against No. 2 Alabama, freshmen accounted for 446 of Ole Miss' 476 yards of total offense (93.7 percent), the highest on the season for the Rebel offense ... All four touchdowns involved freshmen as well.
• The 51 total freshmen (36 true, 15 redshirt) on Ole Miss' roster account for over 43 percent of the roster, the third-most in the SEC.
• 23 freshmen (14 true, nine redshirt) have seen action for Ole Miss at least once during the first five games of the season. Those freshmen include: WR Miles Battle (RS), DE Quentin Bivens (RS), OL Nick Broeker (True), ILB Ashanti Cistrunk (RS), RB Snoop Conner (True), QB Matt Corral (RS), DE LeDarrius Cox (True), OL Jalen Cunningham (RS), RB Jerrion Ealy (True), DB A.J. Finley (True), WR Demarcus Gregory (RS), DB Jakorey Hawkins (RS), DT KD Hill (RS), WR Dannis Jackson (True), WR Jadon Jackson (True), DB Jalen Jordan (True), OLB Luke Knox (RS), NT Patrick Lucas, Jr. (True), WR Jonathan Mingo (True), QB John Rhys Plumlee (True), DB Deantre Prince (True), DB Jay Stanley (True), QB Grant Tisdale (True).

TACKLE 'EM IF YOU CAN
Freshmen RBs Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner posted nearly identical stat lines in Week 5 that were equally impressive. Ealy gained 68 yards, while Conner gained 62 yards on 10 carries, but it was what they did after contact that was most impressive. Ealy gained 45 of his yards after contact, while Conner earned 48 yards after contact. Combined, this duo averaged a very nice 4.65 yards after contact per attempt in Week 5. In Weeks 1-4, the team's running backs gained 404 yards after contact on 125 attempts for an average of 3.23 YAC per carry. Of the 22 SEC RBs with at least five carries in Week 5, Conner's 4.80 YAC/carry ranked fourth, while Ealy's 4.60 YAC/carry ranked sixth.

CONTESTED CATCHES NO PROBLEM FOR MINGO
True freshman WR Jonathan Mingo had the best game of his young college career against Alabama. He was targeted three times, catching all of them for 74 yards, one TD, two first downs, and a perfect 158.3 passer rating when thrown to. Mingo produced his stat line on just 19 receiving snaps. Of the 65 players in the SEC that ran at least 10 routes this week, Mingo's 3.89 yards per route run ranked fourth best. Very impressively, all three of Mingo's targets and catches were contested by the defense, yet he still brought each of them in successfully. Mingo's three contested catches this week were the most in the SEC and tied for the second most among all FBS receivers.

TISDALE SHINES IN PASS RUSH
DE Tariqious Tisdale has shined for the Rebel defense in the pass rush. In his role within the defense, Tisdale has rushed the passer 52 times this year. He has totaled seven QB pressures (one sack, two QB hits, four hurries) in that body of work, plus an additional five pass rush wins before a pressure could be registered. In total, Tisdale has a 21.1 percent pass rush win rate this season, and that figure ranks seventh among 67 qualifying SEC edge defenders. Tisdale is also the highest graded player on the Rebels defense with an 83.4 overall grade. That overall grade is good for sixth best among qualifying SEC edge defenders.

NO FLY ZONE
DB A.J. Finley had a very solid outing in relief duty in Week 5 for the Rebels defense. Finley played 29 snaps at Alabama, by far the most of his true freshman career. He was the second highest graded player on the defense with a 73.0 overall grade. Finley was most effective in coverage, where he had two targets against him that went for two completions but zero yards. Finley was very quick to shut down any receptions around him, as he had three defensive stops in coverage (tackles that result in a "loss" for the offense), hence the zero coverage yards against him. His three coverage stops were tied for the most among all SEC defenders this week even though he only dropped into coverage on just 15 plays.

RPOs KEY IN OLE MISS OFFENSE
No offense in the SEC this year is using RPO (run-pass option) concepts more than Rich Rodriguez and Ole Miss. Ole Miss has used an RPO on 40.5 percent of their offensive plays this year, most in the SEC. The Ole Miss offense also led the SEC in RPO rate last year (41 percent). Ole Miss has gained 719 rushing yards using RPO concepts this year, most in the SEC. On 124 RPO rush attempts this season, Ole Miss has gained 5.8 yards per carry and scored three rushing TDs.

BROTHERLY COMPANY
Ole Miss is one of only nine FBS schools in the country to have brothers on the same coaching staff as running backs coach Derrick Nix is in his 12th year at Ole Miss and Tyrone Nix is in his fifth overall season (second stint) coaching outside linebackers. If you include support staff, Matt and Tom Luke (Assistant A.D. for Player Development), the Rebels are the only school in the country to have two sets of brothers on staff.
• Jeff, Brian & Greg Brohm (HC, OC, Ops) - Purdue
    • Travis & Trent Greene (GAs) - Syracuse
    • Thomas & Tyquan Hammock (HC & GA) - Northern Illinois
    • Willy & Colton Korn (Co-OC & Def. GA) - South Alabama
    • Matt & Tom Luke (HC & Player Dev.) - Ole Miss
    • Joey & Kevin Lynch (AHC/OC & RB) - Ball State
    • Derrick & Tyrone Nix (RB & OLB) - Ole Miss
    • Jake & Zac Spavital (HC & DC) - Texas State
    • Matt & Luke Wells (HC & TE/IR) - Texas Tech
    • Kyle & Freddie Whittingham (HC & TE) - Utah

LANDSHARK CHAIN GETS PASSED AROUND
When the Ole Miss defense forces a turnover, they get rewarded with the Landshark Chain; an occurrence that's happened numerous times during the 2019 season. The Rebels rank fifth in the SEC with five interceptions, all of which have been by different players. Ole Miss has forced at least one turnover in every game this season.

FIRST-TIME STARTERS
Ten Rebels have made their first career starts during the first five weeks of the 2019 season: (Offense) Matt Corral (QB), Dontario Drummond (WR), Michael Howard (OL), Eli Johnson (OL), Jonathan Mingo (WR), Royce Newman (OL); (Defense) Jon Haynes (DB), Lakia Henry (ILB), John Rhys Plumlee (QB), Sam Williams (OLB).

DEBUTS
Twenty-five players have made their Ole Miss debut so far this season: Nick Broeker (OL), Ashanti Cistrunk (DB), Spencer Cole (P), Snoop Conner (RB), LeDarrius Cox (DE), Jalen Cunningham (OL), Vernon Dash (OLB), Dontario Drummond (WR), Jerrion Ealy (RB), A.J. Finley (DB), Demarcus Gregory (WR), Casey Griffith (K), Jon Haynes (DB), Lakia Henry (OLB), Dannis Jackson (WR), Jadon Jackson (WR), Jalen Jordan (DB), Patrick Lucas, Jr. (NT), Jonathan Mingo (WR), D'Vaughn Pennamon (TE), John Rhys Plumlee (QB), Deantre Prince (DB), Jay Stanley (DB), Grant Tisdale (QB), Sam Williams (OLB).

125 SEASONS OF OLE MISS FOOTBALL
This year is the 125th season of football at Ole Miss and the third under head coach Matt Luke. The Rebels boast an all-time record of 640-527-35 (.547 winning percentage) after vacated wins. Ole Miss did not field teams in 1897 due to an epidemic of yellow fever, and also in 1943 when football was abolished at all Mississippi state-supported institutions by the Board of Trustees.

LUKE'S WEEKLY RADIO SHOW ON TUESDAYS
RebTalk, the official weekly radio show of Ole Miss Athletics, is moving to a new day and location for this season. Beginning Aug. 27, RebTalk will be broadcast each Tuesday this fall at Bouré in downtown Oxford from 7-8 p.m. The show, which is hosted by the "Voice of the Rebels" David Kellum and includes special guests, will air live on the Ole Miss IMG Sports Network. Ole Miss Football head coach Matt Luke and select players will join the broadcast each Tuesday throughout the season.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Quentin Bivens

Nick Broeker

Mac Brown

Ashanti Cistrunk

Spencer Cole

Snoop Conner

Matt Corral

LeDarrius Cox

Jalen Cunningham

Dontario Drummond

Jerrion Ealy

AJ Finley

Alex Givens

Casey Griffith

Jakorey Hawkins

Jon Haynes

Lakia Henry

KD Hill

Michael Howard

Dannis Jackson

Jadon Jackson

Eli Johnson

Jalen Jordan

Luke Knox

Jonathan Mingo

Elijah Moore

Sam Murphey

Royce Newman

D'Vaughn Pennamon

Scottie Phillips

John Rhys Plumlee

Deantre Prince

Jack Propst

Sellers Shy

Jay Stanley

Tariqious Tisdale

Isaac Way

Sam Williams

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