Ole Miss didn't need help to beat Vanderbilt, but the Commodores offered plenty | Estes

Rapid reaction from Vanderbilt's 52-17 blowout loss to Ole Miss at FirstBank Stadium:

This Ole Miss team, favored by 9.5 points and ranked No. 11 (in the US LBM Coaches Poll), didn't need much help at Vanderbilt. But the Rebels got tons of it anyway from the Commodores , who piled up self-inflicted mistakes during an embarrassing opening half to fall behind 42-3. Among the lowlights: A pair of unnecessary post-play personal foul penalties, with the first likely halting a TD drive for the Commodores and the second extending a TD drive for Ole Miss after a third-down stop.

But, oh, it got worse: Vandy QB Jared Curtis, back from the hush-hush injury that sidelined him against Georgia, handed Ole Miss a touchdown with 43 seconds until halftime on a sack-fumble. And that wasn't even the Rebels' final points of the half. The Commodores fumbled the ensuing kickoff to gift another just 20 seconds later. That fumble was Curtis' fault. Not as much, though, when a first-half interception bounced off Junior Sherrill's hands and directly to an Ole Miss defensive back.

Vanderbilt's defense doesn't get a pass, either. It allowed Ole Miss to drive at least 54 yards for touchdowns on four consecutive possessions.

All the penalties and turnovers (not to mention the absence of any rushing threat in the game's first 20 minutes or so) never gave Vanderbilt a chance in a game decided well before halftime. Those mistakes, though, overshadowed some nice moments and throws by Curtis. He finished with 222 yards on 19-of-32 passing. Yes, there are signs of growth for the freshman QB. Didn't matter much on this day, but they will.

After Ole Miss went up 7-0 on its second possession, Vanderbilt's offense pushed back and would've had second-and-goal at the Rebels' 2 were it not for an unnecessary penalty foul penalty on Vandy offensive lineman Clinton Azubuike for getting salty after the first-down play. The Commodores ended up settling for a field goal. Those were their only points during the first half.

72 – Penalty yards for Vanderbilt in the first half alone. That was for seven penalties, not even including several on the Commodores that were declined. For the game, Vandy finished with 11 penalties for 92 yards.

Curtis can play. He's a freshman, and you'll definitely notice that inexperience and recklessness when you watch him play. But you'll see some big-time throws, too.

Vanderbilt's team isn't as hopeless as this game made it seem. But Vanderbilt isn't anywhere near good enough to play this poorly against a quality SEC opponent and not get embarrassed.

The worst part? This wasn't new. From the penalties and mental mistakes to the turnovers to an underwhelming run game, we'd seen all this already this season from Vanderbilt.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social