Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the Vanderbilt season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
– Vanderbilt Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 6-7 overall, 3-5 in SEC
Head Coach: Derek Mason, 6th year: 24–38
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VANDERBILT OFFENSE
– The offense that last season relied so much on QB Kyle Shurmur will work a bit more around Ke’Shawn Vaughn and a terrific running game that averaged over five yards per carry. However, the O line has to come together in a hurry after losing three starters and needing depth and options to rise up in the interior. The pass protection was strong, and it needs to be again.
– Ball State transfer Riley Neal is a good veteran with the skills to be a more than adequate replacement for Shurmur. The Commodores have other quarterback options ready to be a part of the mix, but the 6-5, 218-pound Neal is the experienced option with the arm and upside to keep the Commodores averaging over 240 yards per game through the air. It will help that …
– The receiving corps is solid. Getting TE Jared Pinkney back for another season is a big help, and the emergence last season of Kalija Lipscomb and CJ Bolar provide enough options to spread the ball around. The running backs can catch, too.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VANDERBILT DEFENSE
– The second-worst defense in the SEC last season had its moments, and it wasn’t quite as miserable as the stats, but when it wasn’t working, it really wasn’t working. The offense was good enough to keep up the pace in most games, but the Commodores were 0-5 when allowing more than 31 points. The big culprit was a pass rush that didn’t do nearly enough to consistently get into the backfield.
– Some good pieces of the defensive puzzle are returning – especially at linebacker – but the front three needs to generate more pressure. Dayo Odeyingbo is a good start, and there’s bulk all across the line, but something has to start kicking in for a D that generated more than two sacks just twice.
– Four of the top five tacklers are gone, but Dimitri Moore has all-star potential at one of the inside linebacker spots, and the safety combination of Frank Coppet and Tae Daley is good enough to work the secondary around. Overall, though, after allowing almost than 1,000 more yards than the 2017 D – to be fair, playing in a bowl game had something to do with that – and with six starters gone, it’s going to be a bit of a rebuild.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP VANDERBILT PLAYERS
Best Vanderbilt Offensive Player
RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Sr.
The 5-10, 215-pounder was exactly what the offense needed to take some of the pressure off Kyle Shurmur and the passing game, cranking out 1,244 yards and 12 scores – and catching two touchdown passes – averaging close to eight yards per run.
The Illinois transfer sat out a year, and he looked and played like a fresh back over the second half of the season, running for four 100-yard games in the final five, highlighted by his 243-yard, two-score day in the bowl win over Baylor.
2. TE Jared Pinkney, Sr.
3. WR Kalija Lipscomb, Sr.
4. QB Riley Neal, Sr.
5. WR CJ Bolar, Jr.
Best Vanderbilt Defensive Player
LB Dimitri Moore, Soph.
The 6-3, 225-pound guided missile has the speed and athleticism to work on the outside, but he’s a tough guy on the inside of the 3-4, finishing second on the team with 84 tackles with a sack and 3.5 tackles for loss. There’s a chance he could be turned loose a bit more into the backfield, but he’s at his best when he’s able to chase down ball-carriers. Expect a 100-stop season – at least.
2. S Frank Coppet, Jr.
3. DE Dayo Odeyingbo, Jr.
4. DT Drew Birchmeier, Jr.
5. S Tae Daley, Jr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The Vanderbilt Offense
Score whenever there’s a chance. The skill parts are there, and the line will be more than okay with a little bit of time. But the defense is going to need a whole lot of work – get ready for a few shootouts early one. Last season, the Commodores lost four games by a touchdown or less, finishing the season scoring on just 76% of their chances inside the 20. They failed in the red zone against Missouri, and lost by five and were 0-for-2 against Kentucky in the 14-7 loss.
Biggest Key To The Vanderbilt Defense
Third … down … stops. The lack of a consistent pass rush led to a maddening problem of simply not being able to get off the field. The Vandy D allowed teams to convert 46% on third downs, allowing offenses to hit half of their chances or more seven times and lost four of those. By comparison, the 2017 defense gave up third downs 37% of the time in 2017.
Key Player To A Successful Season
QB Riley Neal, Sr.
Mo Hasan, and Deuce Wallace are good enough to get a shot if Neal isn’t fantastic, but there’s a reason the grad transfer from Ball State picked the Commodores. He’s a big, smart, accurate passer who has had injury issues, but he also didn’t get the pass protection he’ll enjoy with the Commodores. The rest of the offense will be good, and if Neal is better than just okay, blowing past the 300-point mark again is possible.
Key Game To The Vanderbilt Season
at Ole Miss, Oct. 5
For a team that’s going to need a little while to get the parts together on offense, starting the SEC season with Georgia and LSU is a big, big problem. With Missouri up next in conference play after facing Ole Miss, Vandy has to be ready for shootouts, and it has to be good enough to get by the Rebels in Oxford for the first time since 2012. Lose, and a winless SEC season isn’t out of the question.
– Vanderbilt Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 Vanderbilt Fun Stats
– Vanderbilt 1st Quarter Scoring: 66 – Vanderbilt 2nd Quarter Scoring: 103
– Third Down Conversions: Opponents 83-of-182 (46%) – Vanderbilt 60-of-163 (37%)
– Penalties: opponents 86 for 732 yards – Vanderbilt 72 for 568 yards
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. VANDERBILT WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
The offense is going to be terrific again. It’s going to be explosive, the skill players are as good as the program has had in a long time, and as long as the quarterback play is steady, the team will be able to hang around against just about everyone.
But the defense won’t do its part.
It’ll be fine against the mediocre offenses, but it’s got too many new parts and too many question marks to get off to a hot start or go on any sort of a winning run.
Last year, it helped to ease into the season a bit against Nevada and Middle Tennessee. There’s no such luck this year.
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 5
The Wolf Pack and Blue Raiders were fine – both ended up getting a post-season game – but the Commodores were able to go bowling last season because they beat up on the weak and the sad.
To be fair, they came up clutch against Tennessee in the bowl-or-go-home regular season finale for both teams, but still, four of the six wins came against FBS teams that didn’t go bowling. All seven losses came against bowl teams, and now this year’s slate isn’t going to be any easier.
Out of the first four games against Georgia, at Purdue, LSU, and defending MAC champion Northern Illinois, the Commodores should be able to beat the Huskies, but it’ll take some work to get out of September with anything better than that.
Unless there’s a massive clunker along the way by someone like an unfocused South Carolina, or against Kentucky in Nashville or Tennessee in Knoxville, it’s going to be tough to go bowling for the third time in four years.
Expect a sixth straight losing season.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Recruiting Class Analysis | Schedule Analysis
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