One aspect of Ole Miss football's win vs Vanderbilt offers optimism for next defining weeks

OXFORD — Ole Miss football gave Vanderbilt's quarterbacks two simple options Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Get the ball out quickly or end up in the dirt.

The pass rush of the Rebels offered the Commodores no quarter. Vanderbilt, which averaged more than 265 yards passing going into the game, completed eight passes for 60 yards. Ole Miss sacked the Commodores five times, moving them 37 yards in the wrong direction.

"That was great to see," coach Lane Kiffin said after the 33-7 Ole Miss win. "We've done that a lot of times this year. Those guys have come together and played really well. Very physical."

The pass-rushing evolution executed by first-year defensive coordinator Pete Golding is among the most under-discussed storylines of the season for the Rebels (7-1, 4-1 SEC). Attributing Saturday's dominance to only Vanderbilt's ineptitude would be a mistake.

Ole Miss entered the weekend with a top-five pass rush nationally with 3.57 sacks per game. Its effort against the Commodores (2-7, 0-5) should only improve its standing on that leaderboard when Week 9 action concludes.

Ole Miss fielded a good pass rush last season under co-coordinators Chris Partridge and Maurice Crum Jr. It posted 2.69 sacks per game, ranking 26th in the country, then sent its leading rusher, Tavius Robinson, who accumulated seven sacks, to the NFL.

Under Golding, and despite the loss of Robinson, the defensive front has transitioned from good to great. The Rebels have sacked the opposing quarterback at least three times in every game this season. And they're getting contributions from everyone.

More: Ole Miss football grades: Defense tops class again in 33-7 win over Vanderbilt

The system is a heavy rotation with its front six. As a result, seven players went into the weekend with at least two sacks. Against Vanderbilt, Jared Ivey delivered 2.5 sacks on his own to move into the team lead with 5.5.

"He made a big sack last week at the end, too," Kiffin said. "So he's done a really good job. I think, too, you gotta have Pete Golding a lot of credit for this turnaround."

The Rebels surrendered 229 yards of total offense to Vanderbilt, marking the third consecutive SEC game in which they've held the opposition to less than 300 yards. They have their efforts up front to thank.

In the weeks to come, the pass rush will have the power to dictate outcomes, not polish box scores against teams the Rebels overmatch.

Texas A&M, as averse to excellence as it has been under Jimbo Fisher, will be more talented than any of the past three teams the Rebels have beaten. The Aggies (5-3, 3-2) make the journey to Oxford on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN). After that, Ole Miss certainly will need its rushers to feast in order to beat Georgia (8-0, 5-0), the two-time defending national champion.

The power that unit wields goes beyond the sacks total. It can change the dynamic of the opposition's offense entirely.

FULL UPDATES: Ole Miss football score updates vs. Vanderbilt in SEC Week 9

"It speeds things up for you," Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart said when asked about the impact of a pass rush. "I think a lot of times you start to get hit a lot, you kind of get those feelings of the clock running down and trying to get out of the pocket.

"It definitely affects the opposing quarterback. I think it shows that the more pressure that you get, quarterbacks are going to make mistakes. We were able to come up with two interceptions. I thought a huge part of that was because of the pressure we put on them."

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why elite Ole Miss football pass rush makes everything possible