There wasn’t much to get excited about in SEC country on Saturday following one cupcake game after another on the Week 12 schedule but the one conference game that many had circled as potentially the best game on the slate proved to be just that from Nashville.

In a game the resembled a tug of war competition on a wet and sloppy surface, this contest could have been either team’s to win at various points, but miscues and slip-ups ended up deciding the fate of this matchup. In the end, it was Vanderbilt that held on to win this one by a slim 36-29 margin in overtime.

The Commodores may have won this game but the story from this one will ultimately be the final call on the field by the SEC’s officiating crew. With the Rebels were down by seven during the first overtime period before Brown came down with a touchdown catch to that would have tied the game, pending an extra point. Keep in mind the play was ruled a touchdown on the field.

Brown clearly controlled the ball, went to the ground, hitting his back on the field before having the ball taken away by the Vanderbilt defender while both were laying on the ground in the end zone.

The score was reviewed and following a lengthy review, the officials overturned the call. Ole Miss failed to score on the next play, giving Vanderbilt a 36-29 win.

By prevailing at home, Vanderbilt improves to 5-6 on the season, meaning the Commodores are now only one win away from making a bowl game with one homestand remaining against hated in-state rival Tennessee. Ole Miss falls to 5-6 on the season with the loss.

The game started with some solid defense by Vanderbilt as the Commodores showed up big and stopped Ole Miss on multiple short yardage situations. The tone of the game was set once Derek Mason’s defense held on the first fourth down attempt of the game on the Ole Miss side of the field and was later reaffirmed when Vandy shut the Rebels out of the end zone following three consecutive stops near the goal line.

While the Commodores were holding their ground in the trenches, Ole Miss receivers had field days against the Vanderbilt secondary on Saturday.

A.J. Brown had nine catches for 212 yards and one touchdown, with a long of 84 yards, and Damarkus Lodge had nine catches for 117 yards and a score of his own. Here was Lodge’s touchdown, which features an incredible individual effort from the Rebel receiver. He even managed to get two feet down in the end zone on the catch.

Things may have gone well for Ole Miss early in the game, the Rebels led 13-0 out of the gate, a blocked punt late in the second quarter appeared to turn the tide of this contest. Prior to the safety, Vandy was down 13-3 but not long after, the Commodores went on a run and found themselves up 26-17 in the fourth quarter.

Credit Ole Miss for not folding at that point, fight back to make it a back and forth affair during the final quarter of the game. In the end, however, it was Ole Miss mistakes that gave the Commodores the edge. Two Jordan Ta’amu interceptions crippled his team’s chances to score in the fourth. Those errors were the difference in the game.

Despite those miscues, the Rebels did drive done the field for a game-tying field goal at the end of the game to force overtime. In an interesting decision, Matt Luke decided to kick a 29-yard field goal to force overtime on 4th and 1 instead of going for the first down and a potential win with 40 seconds remaining in the game.

Next Saturday, Vanderbilt hosts Tennessee for the right to go to a bowl game, while Ole Miss ends its season in Oxford in the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State on Thanksgiving.