Ole Miss defeats Vanderbilt for first SEC win

Published 6:57 pm Saturday, October 14, 2017

Ole Miss rushed for 100 yards in the first half and the Landshark defense returned.

It was a perfect recipe for the Rebels to defeat Vanderbilt 57-35 on Saturday inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

It snapped the Rebels’ three-game skid and was the most points scored in the series since a 63-28 win over the Commodores in 1979. It is also the second most points scored by Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2 Southeastern Conference) in an SEC game since 1979.

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Shea Patterson tossed for 351 yards and four touchdowns while the Ole Miss running backs gouged the Vanderbilt defense for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

“I’m just so proud of these kids,” said Ole Miss interim head coach Matt Luke in a post game interview. “They fought through a lot of adversity.”

Saturday’s win was Luke’s first SEC win as a head coach.

Jordan Wilkins rushed for over 100 yards for the second time this season with 113 on 18 carries and one touchdown. Eric Swinney had 76 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Swinney got most of the yards on his 55-yard touchdown run late in the game.

The Rebels averaged 6.1 yards per carry.

The Ole Miss receivers were paced by A.J. Brown and his 174 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches. DaMarkus Lodge follwed with 74 yards and two touchdowns on five catches.

Vanderbilt had a 14-7 lead in the first quarter before Ole Miss went on a 40-7 run.

The Ole Miss defense stayed in Vanderbilt’s backfield all afternoon. The Commodores (3-4, 0-4) managed 417 total yards but none of it came easy.

Marquis Haynes recorded three of the Rebels seven sacks. Haynes’ three sacks helped him set a new career record in the modern era (since 1983) with 29.

Sophomore linebacker Jerrion Street had the lone interception on the day for Ole Miss.