NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Jevan Snead didn’t even turn on a TV, declining to listen to all the talk about the Mississippi Rebels’ fall. Teammate Kentrell Lockett soaked in every comment.
Call it fuel for the defensive tackle’s personal fire.
“I wanted to hear what everybody had to say, I wanted to read what everybody said also, and just listen to it for the day and see how everybody else regarded us and how everybody saw us and how they portrayed us just from that one game,” Lockett said.
“How many times have we been in this predicament before and people be talking down about us and just saying whatever we could have been and what didn’t happen, and just take it and use it as motivation and fuel for the next game and motivation to show this guy who said we couldn’t do it and we were overrated.”
ss at South Carolina, which tumbled Mississippi from the No. 4 ranking that had been its highest since October 1970 down to 21st. If the Rebels weren’t hurting enough, they had to start preparing for Saturday night’s trip to Vanderbilt with plenty of reminders of last season’s 23-17 loss to the Commodores.
“There’s a lot of frustration that needs to be released down in Nashville, a lot of frustration,” Lockett said.
Vanderbilt forced six turnovers in that game, picking off four Snead passes, as the Commodores made their own run at history with their best start since World War II.
Now it’s the Rebels (2-1, 0-1) to match the 5-1 start in 2002 when they opened 5-1 when they visit Vanderbilt (2-2, 0-2) in a must-win for both Southeastern Conference teams.
“I know they’re going to come in here and try to get revenge,” Vanderbilt safety Sean Richardson said. “Plus, them coming off a loss, they’re going to try to redeem themselves. I know they’re going to play hard,” Richardson said.
Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt has been as busy trying to keep his Rebels from feeling too letdown going against a Vanderbilt team looking for its third straight win in this series.
“What’s critical is that you don’t let the bubble burst. People say that we didn’t deserve the No. 4 ranking. They hear all of those things that are negative. My kids didn’t have anything to do with that ranking,” Nutt said. “That is where you have to just put everything aside and play football.”
Nutt’s bigger concern is getting Snead untracked. The quarterback was just 7 of 21 for 107 yards at South Carolina and is completing a measly 49.3 percent of his passes for 163.7 yards per game. Nutt just wants Snead to settle down and work at hitting open receivers.
“We want his eyes downfield like he did last year. Just play the game like he is capable of playing. When he does that, our team moves. We move the football when that happens,” Nutt said.
Nutt isn’t talking about where he might put Dexter McCluster, who led the Rebels in rushing for the first time all season with 85 yards at South Carolina. But McCluster did not catch a pass for the first time in five games.
“It just depends on the flow of the game, how we are executing, how we are making first downs and hopefully scoring. He’s a vital part of it,” Nutt said.
Vanderbilt will be without Ryan Hamilton, who picked off three of Snead’s passes last season, because he tore a pectoral muscle away from the bone in a loss at LSU in September.
But Vanderbilt is ranked fifth in the SEC in total defense, allowing 266 yards. The Commodores rank 12th nationally with 12 sacks, have allowed only one touchdown through the air this season and are coming off a 36-17 win at Rice in which they grabbed four interceptions.
The Commodores’ biggest challenge will be offensively. They scored a combined 12 points in losses to LSU and Mississippi State. Larry Smith is coming off his best game as a quarterback, but he lost receiver John Cole to a broken hand.
“If we don’t clean things up on offense, it’s going to be a long day,” Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said.
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