The Vanderbilt Commodores are set to face the Ole Miss Rebels this weekend. Check out our college football odds series, which includes our Vanderbilt-Ole Miss prediction, odds, and pick.

The Vanderbilt Commodores are headed for a winless SEC season under first-year coach Clark Lea, who came to Nashville to take on this very difficult job after helping Brian Kelly and Notre Dame become a playoff-caliber program. Lea is not working with very much talent. Vanderbilt played Connecticut – one of the four or five worst teams in the FBS this season — on even terms, barely winning in the final moments. Florida's atrocious defense shut out Vanderbilt. It has been that kind of a year, and Lea will definitely get plenty of time to grow into the job of a head coach.

That said, Lea has certainly made significant mistakes. Late in the South Carolina game, with Vanderbilt leading by three points, he kicked a short field goal in the red zone instead of going for it on fourth and five from the 10. Getting a first down would have sealed the win, but failing on fourth down still would have forced South Carolina to drive at least 60 yards for a tying field goal. The reward was much greater than the risk, but Lea kicked the field goal instead. He then used a soft prevent defense, allowing South Carolina to march downfield for a relatively easy touchdown with a backup quarterback. Vanderbilt missed its big chance for an SEC win, falling 21-20. Lea has a lot to learn. Keep that in mind when making a Vanderbilt-Ole Miss pick.

Lea's counterpart has done a lot of learning and is a much better coach these days. Lane Kiffin flopped at USC, but he learned from his mistakes and now has Ole Miss in position to go 10-2 and make a New Year's Six bowl game. The people who study college football odds are aware of how much Kiffin has evolved. Going to the Group of Five and being the coach at Florida Atlantic showed Kiffin how to manage a program. His Tennessee and USC years were too much, too soon. Kiffin didn't go through the normal progression of a head coach. Now that he has, he is a lot wiser, and Ole Miss's results prove it. That is worth knowing for anyone considering a Vanderbilt Ole Miss prediction.

Here’s how the bookmakers have set the odds:

College Football odds: Vanderbilt-Ole Miss Odds

Vanderbilt: +35.5 (-114)

Ole Miss: -35.5 (-106)

Over: 65.5 (-104)

Under: 65.5 (-118)

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Why Vanderbilt Could Cover the Spread

The Ole Miss Rebels have their big in-state battle, the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State, next week. This is an obvious look-ahead game for the Rebels, also a sandwich game since an important Texas A&M contest was this past weekend. Ole Miss has to win by 36 points. Lane Kiffin could easily call off the dogs and try to win this game with minimal play-calling boldness. Ole Miss could use a minimalist approach and put this game on cruise control.

Why Ole Miss Could Cover the Spread

The Vanderbilt team Ole Miss is facing is just not equipped to deal with Ole Miss. Remember that VU was shut out by Florida and former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. The Commodores just don't have anything or anyone which suggests that they can keep this game particularly close.

Final Vanderbilt-Ole Miss Prediction & Pick

The point spread bet is tricky, given that Ole Miss won't want to invest too much emotional energy in this game. A better play is the under, since Ole Miss has a solid defense — it contained Texas A&M last week — and Vanderbilt has a very impotent offense. Even if Ole Miss does score 45 or 49 points, Vanderbilt might not get past 17, and that's an under in this game.

Final Vanderbilt-Ole Miss Pick: under 66.5