[RussellBird]

Vanderbilt Upsets Ole Miss in an Instant Classic


All-American Jordan Matthews barely stays in bounds, as he hauls in the deciding touchdown.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - If there was any indication that Vanderbilt is on an upward climb, this game was certainly it. James Franklin, in just two years time, has managed to completely turn this once sinking program around. 2012 was a definite year of milestones for the Commodores. All of it giving Vanderbilt fans plenty of hope for the future. Currently, Vanderbilt is on an eight game winning streak. It's one of the longest winning streaks this program has ever had in its existence. With a game against Austin Peay coming up, it will likely increase to nine. While a team like Ohio State may laugh at this being important, many in Vanderbilt see it as a huge change. Something that certainly hadn't been going on just a few years ago when they were getting 2-10 records quite often. Unless James Franklin decides to bolt, he will likely be apart of Vanderbilt's future for the foreseeable future. It will all likely depend on how well he recruits. Especially this year, as many key starters will be leaving the school.

For the first quarter of the game, Vanderbilt struggled to do much on both sides of the ball. Bo Wallace was easily helping his team move down the field. Even with an injury to their starting running back, Wallace's tendency to take off made it so the injury was insignifcant. No need for a great running back when the quarterback can take the job. Ten passes were attempted, ten were completed. Coverage was lacking for the Commodores. They found themselves out of position many times and allowed opponents to get open. On the flip side, Austyn Carta-Samuels couldn't even hit wide open targets. Many times the ball sailed far over the heads of receivers. Occasionally, it would end up in the outstretched hands of the defender. The first quarter was simply not their quarter. With the lack of passing and rushing, it wasn't a surprise to see Vanderbilt down by two touchdowns heading into the second quarter of play. Unlike other teams, though, James Franklin and his players did not panic. They merely continued the offense like it had been.

Carta-Samuels finally began to hit his targets. If a player was open, the ball would find itself heading straight towards them. No more terrible passes. That no longer plagued the team. Ole Miss would score first in the second quarter. Only about two minutes into it. Again, things weren't exactly looking great for Vanderbilt. But, as mentioned earlier, the offense finally came together. In the second and third quarters, the Commodores would go on to outscore Ole Miss 28-3 to give them a 28-20 lead heading into the fourth quarter. A huge turnaround from the game they had been playing earlier. While the defense wasn't doing the greatest job at stopping Wallace from running, they began to limit him through the air. An interception was thrown in the endzone, and a fumble was caused due to a horrible pitch back to the running back on an option play. Nothing was going right for Ole Miss, and they could feel the heat. With Vanderbilt's offense clicking, they were going to have to make huge plays against the defense.

Ole Miss managed a touchdown on a huge run from their backup halfback. After getting stuck behind some defenders, he managed to bounce his way around them, break a few tackles, and find his way into the endzone. Trying to tie the game up, Bo Wallace would attempt to run the ball in. Only to get blasted a few inches short of his destination. Almost two minutes later, Vanderbilt was separate themselves even more. Taking a five-point lead just three minutes to go. Unfortunately, Ole Miss managed to move down the entirety of the field to quickly can a one point lead. Once again, this time without Bo Wallace due to an injury sustained in the touchdown, attempted to force the ball into the endzone. Once again, the quarterback was sent flying through the air. Without under a minute to go, Carta-Samuels continuously flung the ball down field. Merely trying to get his team into field goal position. When they reached the red zone, it became apparent that Vanderbilt had no plan to take the two point lead on a field goal. Instead, Carta-Samuels found Jordan Matthews in the back to take the lead back once again. Ole Miss was unable to do much on the next drive and would ultimately fall to the Commodores.

After the huge victory against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt will stay at home and take on Austin Peay in what looks to be an easy win. With a surprising loss, Ole Miss will likely be able to regroup in their game against Southeast Missouri.

Fitz Lassing's short touchdown catch would ultimately provide the spark for Vanderbilt..


Ole Miss's defense is unable to bring down Steven Scheu, as he manages to stumble into the endzone.

Mississippi Rebels at Vanderbilt Commodores
Aug 29, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#24 Mississippi Rebels (0-0)	14	6	0	12	32
Vanderbilt Commodores (0-0)	0	14	14	11	39

Team Stats Comparison
	MISS	VAN
Total Offense	452	455
Rushing Yards	240	131
Passing Yards	212	324
First Downs	21	21
Punt Return Yards	31	54
Kick Return Yards	154	183
Total Yards	637	692
Turnovers	2	2
3rd Down Converstion	7-13	5-12
4th Down Conversion	0-0	1-1
2-Point Conversion	0-2	1-1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4/3-1	7/4-1
Penalties	2-20	1-2
Posession Time	15:35	16:25

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MISS	VAN
4:27	(MISS) TD: B. Wallace, 19 YD Run (A. Ritter Kick)	7	0
0:47	(MISS) TD: J. Walton, 3 YD Run (A. Ritter Kick)	14	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MISS	VAN
6:39	(MISS) FG: A. Ritter, 25 YD Kick	17	0
4:57	(VAN) TD: F. Lassing, 1 YD Pass from A. Carta-Samuels (C. Spear Kick)	17	7
3:42	(VAN) TD: J. Kruse, 24 YD Pass from A. Carta-Samuels (C. Spear Kick)	17	14
0:03	(MISS) FG: A. Ritter, 51 YD Kick	20	14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MISS	VAN
4:35	(VAN) TD: A. Carta-Samuels, 5 YD Run (C. Spear Kick)	20	21
0:11	(VAN) TD: S. Scheu, 29 YD Pass from A. Carta-Samuels (C. Spear Kick)	20	28
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MISS	VAN
4:42	(MISS) TD: I. Mathers, 33 YD Run (2-PT Failed)	26	28
3:00	(VAN) FG: C. Spear, 33 YD Kick	26	31
0:57	(MISS) TD: I. Mathers, 2 YD Run (2-PT Failed)	32	31
0:11	(VAN) TD: J. Matthews, 8 YD Pass from A. Carter-Samuels (2-PT)	32	39

Mississippi Rebels PASSING C/A YDS TD INT B. Wallace 20/30 212 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD B. Wallace 20 103 5.1 1 J. Walton 15 73 4.8 1 I. Mathers 4 59 14.7 2 J. Scott 2 5 2.5 0 K. Moore 1 1 1.0 0 D. Moncrief 1 -1 -1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD E. Engram 5 36 7.2 0 D. Moncrief 4 110 0 0 J. Walton 4 17 4.2 0 V. Sanders 2 10 5.0 0 L. Treadwell 1 6 6.0 0 Q. Adeboyejo 1 21 21.0 0 I. Mathers 1 0 0.0 0 C. Thompson 1 5 5.0 0 J. Scott 1 7 7.0 0

Vanderbilt Commodores PASSING C/A YDS TD INT A. Carta-Samuels 23/36 324 4 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD W. Tate 21 55 2.6 0 A. Carta-Samuels 11 73 6.6 1 J. Seymour 1 3 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD S. Scheu 6 109 18.1 1 J. Krause 4 93 23.2 1 J. Matthews 4 52 13.0 1 W. Tate 3 11 3.6 0 J. Cunningham 3 42 14.0 0 F. Lassing 2 9 4.5 1 T. Pruitt 1 8 8.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK A. Bridges 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD K. Ladler 12 0.0 0 0 P. Head 8 0.0 0 0 C. Garnham 7 0.0 0 0 W. May 7 3.0 0 0 J. Marshall 7 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG C. Spear 1/2 4/4 7 33 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 T. Hudson 3 117 39.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD B. Kimbrow 5 183 36.6 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD J. Krause 3 54 18.0 0