In his brief time at Vanderbilt, Bobby Johnson already has developed a knack for finding a silver lining in the darkest cloud.

Johnson and his staff spent last week trying to find a way to stop Auburn's Carnell Williams, one of the nation's premier running backs. This week, they face Ole Miss' Eli Manning, one of the best quarterbacks.

The silver lining?

''I'm just glad they don't play on the same team,'' Johnson said.

Considering the damage Williams did in Auburn's 31-6 victory (170 rushing yards, two TDs) and the trouble Manning caused in the final quarter of Ole Miss' 38-27 win over the Commodores last December, that is indeed something for which to be thankful. Still, scheming against the two most potent offensive weapons in the SEC on back-to-back weekends is a daunting task.

''We've got a long way to go,'' Johnson said. ''We're going to probably be overmatched like that in a lot of situations all year long, but we're just going to have to concentrate on technique. You can become better tacklers, and we've got to do that.''

Better tackling takes care of the next great running back the defense faces. But what about Manning and his arm? He's ranked 14th nationally in passing, having completed 65-of-118 for 740 yards, seven touchdowns and just two interceptions.

If Johnson is looking for positives, he should be encouraged by the fact his defense isn't quite as bad against the pass as it is against the run.

The Commodores are 56th nationally in pass defense, allowing 196.3 yards a game, and have given up three passing TDs. Against the run, they dropped to 98th after allowing Auburn 201 yards, and they have given up seven TDs.

Manning calls himself a rhythm passer, and Johnson is trying to come up with a way to disturb that rhythm.

''Hopefully we can get them in some third-and-longs to try to make sure they're not throwing those easy play-action passes,'' Johnson said. ''Not many people have gotten Eli out of his rhythm yet.''

Manning didn't find his groove against Vanderbilt last year until late in the game. The Commodores led 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter, only to have Manning toss three TD passes, then engineer another scoring drive in the final two minutes.

Manning is a Heisman Trophy candidate and on the Davey O'Brien Award watch list. He has thrown at least one TD in the past 15 games dating to the 2000 Music City Bowl. He was unable to complete the comeback against Texas Tech last week, but still threw three TDs.

''He makes good decisions. I haven't seen any bad interceptions where he just throws it in a crowd,'' Johnson said. ''He's a smart player. When you don't give the ball to the other team and you can depend on your players to make good plays, you've got a chance to win.''