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FACTS & STATS: Site: Vanderbilt Stadium (41,600) -- Nashville, Tennessee. Television: SEC Network. Home Record: Ole Miss 1-1, Vanderbilt 2-0. Away Record: Ole Miss 0-0, Vanderbilt 0-0. Neutral Record: Ole Miss 0-0, Vanderbilt 0-0. Conference Record: Ole Miss 0-0, Vanderbilt 0-0. Series Record: Ole Miss leads, 47-36-2.

GAME NOTES: SEC foes will collide in Nashville this weekend, as the Vanderbilt Commodores play host to the Ole Miss Rebels.

Ole Miss appeared to be on its way to a victory over BYU on opening weekend, but a late collapse led to a 14-13 loss to the Cougars. The Rebels did bounce back the following weekend, however, posting a 42-24 triumph over Southern Illinois, an FCS opponent. Coach Houston Nutt has been the recipient of significant criticism for the recent performance of the Ole Miss team, and a loss in this SEC opener will do nothing but enrage the critics.

Last season, Vanderbilt won only two football games, so it is certainly understandable if fans of the program are giddy over the team's 2-0 start to the 2011 campaign. New head coach James Franklin has infused some much-needed energy and excitement. After crushing FCS foe Elon in the opener as expected, the 'Dores earned a hard-fought, 24-21 triumph over Connecticut of the Big East last weekend.

Ole Miss owns a 47-36-2 series lead over Vanderbilt, but the Commodores won last season's meeting by a 28-14 final.

While football is undeniably a team game, one player stood out from the pack for Ole Miss in last week's win over Southern Illinois. Jeff Scott was sensational, as he scored three touchdowns in the first quarter alone and added a fourth TD in the third quarter. Three of the touchdowns came on rushing plays, while another came on a 67-yard punt return.

Ole Miss posted 315 total yards in the clash. Zack Stoudt, the first-year starting quarterback for Nutt's club, completed 11-of-18 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions.

There is certainly room for improvement on the defensive side of the ball for the Rebels, as they yielded 420 total yards and three touchdowns to an inferior opponent. Southern Illinois was able to run for 243 yards against Ole Miss at a clip of 5.9 yards per carry, and that is obviously concerning considering how strong many of the SEC teams are in regard to their ground games.

Through two contests, the Rebels are generating 27.5 ppg while allowing 19.0 ppg to foes. They are posting only 261.5 total ypg offensively, as the game against BYU was clearly a struggle. The rushing attack is posting only 3.5 yards per attempt, a figure that clearly needs to be improved. Perhaps the most impressive stat for Ole Miss to date is that it has intercepted five passes already. Charles Sawyer already has two picks to his credit, and Mike Marry leads the defense with 21 total tackles.

As for Vanderbilt, it is posting 34.5 ppg through its first two games despite gaining a mere 284.0 total ypg. The club has seven offensive touchdowns to its credit, and QB Larry Smith has thrown three scores. Still, there is plenty of room for Smith to improve, as he has completed a mere 49 percent of his passes with two interceptions. Chris Boyd has been explosive on the outside, as he has reached the end zone on three of his four catches. as for the ground attack, no player has totaled 100 rushing yards through the first two games.

Against the Huskies, Boyd hauled in a 42-yard touchdown pass from Smith and Jerron Seymour raced 40 yards for a rushing score. Both of those plays took place in the first quarter, and the Vandy offense sputtered a bit the rest of the way.

The two opponents that Vandy has faced thus far have averaged 17.5 ppg and 258.0 total ypg, so it is fair to say that the defense has done its job. Stopping the run has been a strength of the Commodores, who are yielding a mere 2.4 ypc. The 'Dores have already come up with five interceptions, and Casey Hayward has a pair of picks to his credit. Chris Marve has been stellar as expected, as he has already posted 19 total tackles.

In the victory over UConn last week, Rob Lohr became the first Commodore defender in more than a decade to record four TFLs. He posted one sack in the tilt and earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the effort. Vandy permitted a mere 193 total yards to UConn, including just 89 rushing yards on 36 carries to a team that historically excels on the ground. Hayward returned an errant pass 50 yards for a score, an obvious key to the win.

There is no reason to expect anything other than a close game this weekend. Considering the fact that the Commodores won last year's matchup by double figures on the road, a victory at home seems likely.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Vanderbilt 23, Ole Miss 20