Vanderbilt football will host No. 11 Ole Miss for its SEC opener on Oct. 10 (2:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) at FirstBank Stadium.
The contest comes after Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2 SEC) lost its first two road SEC games to Auburn and Georgia. Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1) has a win over LSU but lost to Florida. The Rebels are coming off an idle week.
Ole Miss, led by quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, has an elite offense, but the defense has struggled. The Rebels allow over 400 yards per game, ranked 115th nationally, and their scoring defense is 117th nationally.
Here is our score prediction for the matchup:
Vanderbilt vs Ole Miss prediction
Advanced analytics have this game as far more winnable for Vanderbilt than the rankings and vibes of the two teams would indicate. The issue is that the Commodores have played
worse than their analytics suggest due to self-inflicted errors like penalties and struggles in the punt game. These aren't one-offs, either, they have happened in the majority of games Vanderbilt has played. The Commodores have a chance if they play
Vanderbilt vs Ole Miss scouting report
Why Vanderbilt has an advantage: Rain is in the forecast, which could hurt Ole Miss more than Vanderbilt given its focus on offense. This could be an opportunity for the Commodores to get their run game going with the Rebels' poor run defense.
Why Ole Miss has an advantage: Ole Miss has Trinidad Chambliss, and Chambliss can simply make things happen. He's a bit reminiscent of Diego Pavia in 2025, and this Rebels team bears another striking similarity to 2025 Vanderbilt: you can't beat them simply with defense. The offense has to show up too, and the Commodores haven't consistently been able to score.
Vanderbilt vs Ole Miss injury updates
Vanderbilt
Probable
QB Jared Curtis
Doubtful
OL Mitchell Smith
Out
CB Jaylin Lackey
LB Jamison Curtis
DL Aaron Bryant
WR Kahden Smith
Ole Miss
Out
LB Ant Davis Jr.
RB Joshua Dye
S Craig Tutt
OL Jalan Chapman
OL Emmanuel Faulkner
TE Wyatt Smalley
Questionable
RB Kewan Lacy
S Gerald Lacy Jr.
Probable
CB Cedrick Beavers
CB Dorian Barney
S MJ Preston
Vanderbilt vs Ole Miss score prediction
Ole Miss 35, Vanderbilt 28
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football vs Ole Miss score prediction for Week 6 game
