Mississippi 24, Vanderbilt 21

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Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	19	19
Total Yards	370	399
Passing	275	298
Rushing	95	101
Penalties	2-15	4-38
3rd Down Conversions	4-13	5-15
4th Down Conversions	0-0	3-4
Turnovers	1	2
Possession	29:06	30:54

Individual Leaders

Mississippi Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Manning 22/33 275 1 0	Vanderbilt Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Cutler 20/32 248 2 1 Walker 1/1 50 1 0
Mississippi Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Turner 13 55 0 11 McClendon 2 27 0 17 Pearson 6 7 1 2	Vanderbilt Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Doster 14 41 0 22 McKenzie 10 41 0 13 Tant 3 8 0 5
Mississippi Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Collins 6 91 0 42 Espy 5 62 1 23 Johnson 3 17 0 10 Biddle 2 33 0 17	Vanderbilt Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Davis 6 138 1 50 Smith 3 43 1 21 Young 3 43 0 19 Doster 3 27 0 14

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER				MISS	VAN
	FG	14:15	JONATHAN NICHOLS 51 YD FG Drive info: 11 plays, 42 yards.	3	0
	TD	4:58	CURTIS BRANCHEAU 1 YD PASS FROM JAY CUTLER (TOLGA ERTUGRUL KICK) Drive info: 10 plays, 61 yards.	3	7
	FG	0:00	JONATHAN NICHOLS 20 YD FG Drive info: 10 plays, 57 yards.	6	7
THIRD QUARTER				MISS	VAN
	TD	9:39	ERIK DAVIS 50 YD PASS FROM BENJI WALKER (TOLGA ERTUGRUL KICK) Drive info: 1 plays, 50 yards.	6	14
	TD	6:41	VASHON PEARSON 1 YD RUN (KERRY JOHNSON 2PT PASS FROM ELI MANNING) Drive info: 8 plays, 72 yards.	14	14
FOURTH QUARTER				MISS	VAN
	TD	14:20	BRANDON SMITH 2 YD PASS FROM JAY CUTLER (TOLGA ERTUGRUL KICK) Drive info: 5 plays, 44 yards.	14	21
	TD	9:24	MIKE ESPY 23 YD PASS FROM ELI MANNING (JONATHAN NICHOLS KICK) Drive info: 5 plays, 75 yards.	21	21
	FG	3:52	JONATHAN NICHOLS 54 YD FG Drive info: 7 plays, 55 yards.	24	21

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Jonathan Nichols kicked a 54-yard field goal with 3:52 left as Mississippi scored 10 unanswered points to beat Vanderbilt 24-21 in the season opener Saturday.

Nichols' field goal gave the Rebels their first lead of the game since 3-0 in the second quarter. He also had field goals of 51 and 20 yards in the second quarter as Ole Miss beat Vandy for the 10th time in the last 11 games.

The Commodores have lost 18 straight Southeastern Conference games dating back to November 2000. They had one last chance in the final minute, but Charlie Anderson hit Jay Cutler twice, and Cutler threw the ball away under pressure on fourth down.

Eli Manning threw for one touchdown and a 2-point conversion for the Rebels, but he fumbled twice and receivers dropped several passes. Vanderbilt sacked Manning twice and hit him repeatedly.

Manning was 22-of-33 for 275 yards. He also passed Kent Austin as Ole Miss' career completions leader. He needed only 12 coming into the game, and now has 576 for his career.

Vanderbilt outgained Mississippi in total offense with 399-370, but the Rebels came through when it mattered.

The Commodores last led 21-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter on Cutler's 2-yard TD pass to Brandon Smith.

That is when Manning took over. He led the Rebels on a 75-yard drive that he capped with a 23-yard TD pass to Mike Espy to tie the game at 21. Then he completed three passes on the final drive to set up Nichols' winning field goal.

The Commodores led 7-6 at halftime and could have had a bigger lead if not for two turnovers deep in Ole Miss territory, including an interception in the end zone.

Vanderbilt, with 10 sophomores starting on defense, held the Rebels 48 yards of total offense in the first quarter. The Commodores also forced Mississippi to settle for a field goal at the end of the first half, stopping the Rebels three times from the Vandy 2.