Ole Miss 39 Vanderbilt 35
Sometimes if you want something bad enough, you just have to go out and take it; that’s exactly what Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze felt his team did Thursday night in their season opener against Vanderbilt.
"We stole one tonight," Freeze said. "We didn't necessarily play that well, particularly defensively in the second half. But one of the staples of our program since I've been here is that you play for 60 minutes and you do not blink and you play until the whistle blows at the end of the game."
Ole Miss opened up the game on fire, with freshman wide receiver and former No. 1 recruit at his position (according to ESPN’s Top-150) LaQuan Treadwell leading all Ole Miss receivers with 9 receptions for 82 yards. Quarterback Bo Wallace struggled in the first half, but found his footing in the third quarter with the read option, scoring two touchdowns in the process.
Vanderbilt’s three game winning streak against Ole Miss is now over, along with their reign of having the longest current winning streak in the SEC.
Vandy had possession with 4:32 left on the clock, down 32-28. After a holding penalty, followed up by an illegal forward pass, Vanderbilt was put into a corner, facing what seemed like a mile-long 4th and 18. That 4th and 18 play would begin what would end up being one of the most memorable college football games ever played. yes, it was that good.
On 4th and 18, Vandy quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels found Jordan Matthews on the outside shoulder to give the Commodores a new set of downs with just under 1:10 to go. The very next play, Carta-Samuels found a disgracefully wide open Steven Scheu for a 34 yard touchdown.
The stadium was going ballistic. Vandy fans from field level all the way up to the nosebleeds were roaring at the top of their lungs; Their Commodores were for real, they were a legitimate team in the SEC.
As Lee Corso would famously say here, “Not so fast, my friend!”
On the ensuing drive, Ole Miss would hand the ball of to senior tailback Jeff Scott, who took the carry 75 yards to the house to give Ole miss a 39-35 lead.
It just doesn’t get any better than that.
With :53 left on the clock, Vanderbilt started their drive on the 49 yard line after a personal foul facemask penalty on the kickoff return.
On 2nd down after an incompletion, Austyn Carta-Samuels had his eyes dead set on Jordan Matthews, who couldn’t get a firm grip on the ball, allowing it to slip into Corey Prewitt’s hands, the same player who caused Matthews to puke on the field, sealing the game with that interception.
Key Stats:
LaQuan Treadwell (Ole Miss, WR): 9 rec. 82 yds
Bo Wallace (Ole Miss, QB): 31/47 283 yds , 18 rush 48 yds 2 td
Jeff Scott (Ole Miss, RB): 12 rush 138 yds 1 td
Jordan Matthews (Vandy, WR): 10 rec 178 yds 1 td
Austyn Carta-Samuels (Vandy, QB): 21/36 300 yds 2 td 2 int ,