Sept. 15, 2007
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
Vanderbilt is now 2-1 overall, and 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference. It marks the Commodores’ first victory in SEC play since defeating Georgia 24-22 in Athens on Oct. 14, 2006. It snaps a four-game losing streak in conference. It also marks Vanderbilt’s first victory at home against an SEC opponent since Sept. 17, 2005 (Ole Miss, 31-23) and snaps an eight-game losing streak to conference members at Vanderbilt Stadium.
Commodore Notes:
– Vanderbilt opened the game with a 55-yard, 7-play touchdown drive, capped by QB Chris Nickson’s 3-yard rush. The possession started with D.J. Moore’s 33-yard kickoff return. Nickson was 2 of 2 for 21 yards on the scoring drive. It was the Commodores’ first touchdown drive in the opening series since Oct. 28, 2006 (at Duke).
– With 9:50 left in the first quarter, LB Jonathan Goff’s 4-yard sack of QB Seth Adams slowed an Ole Miss drive, forcing a fourth down field goal attempt.
– Late in the initial quarter, DE Steven Stone and DE Broderick Stewart slowed another Rebel drive, combining for a 7-yard QB sack deep in Vanderbilt territory. Two plays later, Ole Miss missed a field goal attempt.
– Nickson guided the `Dores to a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive while directing his second offensive possession. The drive was capped by an 8-yard rush by Cassen Jackson-Garrison. Nickson was 3 of 3 for 43 yards on the drive, including hitting TE Brad Allen on a 4th & 2 conversion.
– At 6:46 of the second quarter, safety Reshard Langford made a huge defensive play, stopping Rebel RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis for a 2-yard loss on 4th of 1 at the Vanderbilt 37-yard line.
– Jonathan Goff’s tackle of Green-Ellis on the final play was his 11th tackle of the first half.
– Nickson finished the first half 11 of 14 for 130 yards. In 2006, Nickson played just one half against Ole Miss, completing 11 of 13 passes for 95 yards.
– Bryant’s QB sack of Adams forced the Rebels to punt on their opening possession.
– Vanderbilt extended their lead to 17-10 early in the fourth quarter when kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt capped off a 14-play, 58-yard drive with a 24-yard FG.
– With 14:32 left, D.J. Moore gave Vanderbilt excellent field position with an interception at the Ole Miss 28. Four plays later, Jackson-Garrison scored from the 9-yard line. It marks the third two-touchdown performance of Jackson-Garrison’s career.
-With 2:56 left, Stewart forced a 4th-and-long for Ole Miss with a two-yard tackle for loss. DE Curtis Gatewood followed Stewart’s play with a 7-yard QB sack on fourth down.
Commodore Superlatives:
– Vanderbilt dominated the contest in terms of time of possession. The Commodores controlled the ball for 34:50 to the Rebels 25:10.
– The last time Vanderbilt had a 100 yard rusher, 100 yard receiver, and 200 yard passer in an SEC contest was Sept. 17, 2005 against Ole Miss.
– The Vanderbilt defense posted seven sacks.
– Earl Bennett: Caught 11 passes for 100 yards. It was Bennett’s ninth game with 100 or more receiving yards and his ninth game with at least 10 receptions.
– Moved from 13th to 7th all-time in the SEC with 189 receptions.
– Passed former `Dore Boo Mitchell into 2nd place all-time in career receptions.
– Moved to 17th place in the SEC in career receiving yards (2,397) yards.
– Chris Nickson: Connected on 17 of 25 passes for 200 yards. He also rushed for 57 yards on 14 carries.
– Cassen Jackson-Garrison: Rushed for 119 yards and three touchdowns. It was his highest single-game rushing total since piling up 142 yards vs. Temple (Sept 30, 2006). It was the third 100-yard rushing performance of his career. He also becomes the first Commodore to rush for at least 100 yards since Nickson gained 150 yards vs. Duke (Oct. 28, 2006). He becomes the second Commodore to post three touchdowns this year (Earl Bennett, vs. Richmond, Sept. 1). Jackson-Garrison’s 23 rushing attempts also is a career high. He also becomes the first Commodore to rush for 100 yards against an SEC opponent since Jeff Jennings ran for 103 yards against Ole Miss on Sept. 17, 2005.
The Commodores are off next Saturday, returning to host Eastern Michigan on Sept. 29.
SERIES INFORMATION:
-Today’s game was the 82nd meeting between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt dating back to 1894.
-The Rebels lost for only the third time in the last 15 meetings since 1992.
-It marks only the Rebels’ second loss in the last seven meetings at Vanderbilt Stadium.
DEBUTS:
True freshman LB Lamar Brumfield saw his first career action and appeared in the starting lineup.
FIRST-TIME STARTERS:
DEFENSE (2): #48- Lamar Brumfield (Fr., WLB); #24 Cassius Vaughn (So., LCB)
TEAM NOTES:
-Ole Miss drops to 30-41-3 in SEC openers … The Rebels are now 14-26-3 in SEC openers on the road … The last league-opening win came in 2003 in Nashville, 24-21 over the Commodores.
– The Rebels remain five wins short of 600 … The program boasts an all-time record of 595-453-35 (.566 winning percentage).
OFFENSIVE NOTES:
-Senior QB Seth Adams finished 10-for-17 for 154 yards, one TD and one interception.
-Senior QB Brent Schaeffer saw his first action of the year and completed his first pass attempt for a 54-yard TD to Mike Wallace … It was one yard short of his career-long completion of 55 yards against Alabama a year ago … Schaeffer finished 1-for-5.
-Junior WR Mike Wallace bested his career highs from last Saturday’s Missouri game with 139 receiving yards and two TDs off four catches … He is the first Rebel receiver with consecutive 100-yard receiving games since Mario Hill in the first two games of 2005.
-Sophomore DL/WR Greg Hardy failed to catch a TD pass for the first time in four games.
DEFENSIVE NOTES:
-Junior DB Dustin Mouzon recorded career highs of 11 total tackles and 10 solos … He also notched his second sack of the year and first forced fumble.
-Junior LB Tony Fein was credited with season/career highs of nine total tackles and seven solos.
-Junior DB Jamarca Sanford notched a career-high 10 solo tackles and equaled his career best of 13 total stops from last Saturday’s Missouri game.
-Sophomore DB Cassius Vaughn posted career highs of five total stops and four solos.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES:
-Sophomore K Joshua Shene handled kickoff duties for the first time this year.
-In addition to earning his first start on defense, sophomore Cassius Vaughn had his first career kickoff return with a 27-yard effort in the second quarter.
-The Rebels were successful on their first fake punt attempt of the year in the fourth quarter when Jamarca Sanford rushed five yards for a first down … Sanford also rushed three yards for a first down off a fake punt in last year’s LSU game.
