Here are some quick thoughts on Vanderbilt's 31-6 loss in Saturday's game at Ole Miss.

1. It's hard to overstate how poor the offensive line was. There was nowhere for running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn to run, and pass protection was (debatably) only marginally better. In short, any nightmare anyone had about the line after VU lost Justin Skule and Bruno Reagan last year has come to fruition.

2. Again, there was virtually no downfield passing game. Even when it was late and you thought, out of necessity, that VU would throw downfield, there were the Commodores, dinking and dunking near the line of scrimmage most of the time. I don't know how much of that is dictated by philosophy or by line play, but it's now firmly ingrained in this team's identity.

3. Add “running quarterbacks” to the list of things that gives this defense problems. Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee had two huge runs on the Rebels' first two possessions, and was over 100 rushing yards by the end of the first quarter.

4. Vanderbilt desperately lacks Southeastern Conference-level speed on defense. The Commodores play not to give up big plays, but too many times, VU has lost foot-races once players get into the secondary. Tonight, it was Jerrion Early's 78-yard scoring run early in the third quarter, during which Early got loose after VU was in the backfield and then sprinted, up the middle of the field, past the rest of the Commodore defense.

On the next drive, Ole Miss running back Snoop Conner did the same thing, going up yards almost untouched for an 84-yard score.

Two weeks ago, we saw the same with LSU receivers getting loose in the secondary and winning footraces to the end zone.

5. SEC Network commentator Jordan Rodgers pointed out that the Commodores almost always run when tight end Jared Pinkney lines up alongside the linemen on the line of scrimmage. And, as Rodgers said (to paraphrase), “If I can figure that out, the Ole Miss coaching staff can figure it out."

To that, I’m not sure the Commodores targeted Pinkney in the passing game in the first half. Pinkney--a preseason All-American tight end--had one catch for seven yards after going 1-1 last week.

6. The Commodores just didn’t look “together” out of the gate. It wasn’t just the quick touchdown that Ole Miss scored. It was Justice Shelton-Mosley dropping the first kickoff he saw and getting tackled at the 7. It was the ‘Dores using time outs on their first two offensive possessions, jumping offsides before their first offensive snap, committing a penalty on an Ole Miss field goal attempt (the call was 12 men in the huddle) allowing the Rebels to get five yards closer (and hit it).

7. Sometimes, it’s those little things that kill you. Because the Commodores burned those two time outs, it didn’t have any left when it got the ball at its 38 and drove deep into VU territory. Vandy had a first down at the Rebel 25 with under 20 seconds left, but, instead of Neal spiking the ball to stop the clock, he ran a play. Ryley Guay converted a field goal, but,you wonder if the ‘Dores couldn’t have gotten a touchdown there with a couple of extra plays.

8. The Commodores were awful on third downs. Two-of-17, to be exact.