James Franklin: Officials need to watch Ole Miss

Jeff Lockridge | USA TODAY Sports

Vanderbilt football coach James Franklin is preparing his defense to deal with the fast-paced "tempo offense" of Ole Miss on Thursday night.

He wants the officiating crew to be ready for it as well.

"When the ball is snapped, I want everybody set," Franklin said at his Monday press conference. "We went back and looked at (film of the game against) Ole Miss last year and there was probably 10 to 12 plays when they snapped the ball, their offense wasn't set. But the officials had a hard time keeping up with the pace to get in position to do that.

"So as long as everybody is playing by the same rules and this isn't Canadian football where people are running toward the line of scrimmage when they snap the football, I'm good with it. I think it's great for football. I think it (forces) people to stay on their toes and come up with answers."

Ole Miss returns eight starters to an offense that attempted 50 passes against Vanderbilt last season in Oxford. The Commodores overcame a 403-yard passing night from Bo Wallace to rally past the Rebels 27-26 and earn bowl eligibility in that Nov. 10 meeting.

Vanderbilt, which occasionally implements a few hurry-up plays, is deeper and more talented at most of its defensive positions this year, particularly on the line. But if Wallace can complete a string of passes and keep the chains moving, making substitutions will be a challenge.

"We're going to run a tempo defense this year, which no one has ever heard of," Franklin said jokingly. "You're going to have to wait and see."

Senior end Walker May said Vanderbilt's defensive linemen typically go four or five plays in a row as hard as they can, knowing someone will rotate in for them after that.

"We've been doing a lot of conditioning," May said. "If that (substituting) doesn't happen, we're not worried about it. I like it when teams go faster. It makes it more fun for me."

Empty seats: Tickets are available for the 8:15 p.m. opener in Nashville, which will be televised on ESPN. Vanderbilt officials declined to say how many tickets are unsold and how many Ole Miss has received.

Vanderbilt has declared it a "blackout" game, asking Commodore fans to wear black. Franklin joked that anyone not wearing black would be escorted out of the stadium.

Momentum gone? The Commodores have a seven-game winning streak, the longest in the SEC and tied for the fourth longest in the country behind Ohio State (12), Arkansas State (8) and Stanford (8).

Can the momentum from last season carry over to the start of this season? Franklin suggested not.

"This team has no winning streak whatsoever," he said. "This team hasn't done anything yet. Not one thing. … All those things are in the past, and they're nice, and they're all in the back of the media guide for people to look at. But that's it."

"The team with Zac Stacy and Jordan Rodgers ended with seven wins. We really didn't," senior receiver Jordan Matthews said. "It's a much different team, a new team, a new atmosphere around the locker room."

Decision coming: The No. 2 quarterback competition behind Austyn Carta-Samuels is just about settled between Patton Robinette and Josh Grady. Franklin has a good idea who will fill the backup role but said he would watch two more practices before informing the players on Wednesday.

Big threat: Ole Miss junior receiver Donte Moncrief has the size (6-3, 226) and numbers (66 catches, 979 yards, 10 TDs in 2012) to present issues for any secondary.

Franklin wouldn't say if his top cornerback, Andre Hal, will cover the opponent's top receiver wherever he goes or if Hal will stay on one side and let Steven Clarke handle him on the other side.

"Hugh (Freeze) is watching this right now, live, he's taking notes, so I'm not announcing anything else that hasn't already been listed," Franklin said. "So sorry Hugh, you're not getting that."

Jeff Lockridge writes for The Tennessean, a Gannett property