NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The next month Vanderbilt has the advantage of remaining put.
Three straight home games along with an off week in early November present the Commodores (2-5, 0-3 SEC) with a chance to try to turn the season around in the right direction. That run begins at 3 p.m. Saturday when Vandy hosts Mississippi State.
“I think this is another great opportunity for us to learn how to play at home, to defend our home stadium and to develop a style of play here at home that engages our fan base,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said Tuesday.
Lea’s team is coming off an excruciating, 21-20 loss at South Carolina. It led for more than 19 minutes during the second half and were less than 40 seconds away from victory before the Gamecocks found the game-winning touchdown and extra point at the 37-second mark.
The Dores were just that close from snapping a 16-game conference losing streak that dates to Oct. 19, 2019. And while Lea isn’t concerned with such inherited streaks, his veteran players still yearn to be on the winning side of an SEC affair.
Bruh we are so close. Now is the time to finish.
— Michael Owusu (@mikeislife) October 19, 2021
“It’s a situation that we want to be better in, that we have to be better in if we’re going to be a one-possession team in the fourth quarter playing in tight games. That’s got to be where we thrive,” Lea said in regards to the last-minute loss at South Carolina. “Unfortunately we weren’t able to finish the game off and I think there’s ownership in a lot of areas there.”
“Those exposures, those experiences create a situation where you move your team forward. I know it’s painful. To me it’s the pain that delivers you to an evolved version of self. So we’re going to better from that, learn from it and grow.”
Mississippi State (3-3, 1-2), under the direction of veteran head coach Mike Leach, is licking its wounds from a 49-9 defeat to No. 4 Alabama. The Bulldogs have yet to get their high-powered offense truly into gear while averaging less than 25 points per game.
State is making its first trip to Vanderbilt Stadium since 2009. It has won four in a row in the series and leads the all-time matchups 14-7-2 dating to a 1904 contest.
Vandy last beat the Bulldogs in 2004.
“Mississippi State is a team that is well-versed in its systems on both sides of the ball – and systems on both sides of the ball that are unique. They’ve been able to manage games and be in close games late and they’ve been able to win,” Lea said. “Coach Leach does a nice job on offense possessing the ball with their passing attack. They can also be explosive.
“Then defensively it’s Helter Skelter. It’s a ton of movement. They got a big, physical front that they move around a bunch. That’s going to create negative-yardage snaps. I think the challenge for us offensively is how to get a rhythm, how to get the ball into space? They’re going to make that challenging and we have to come up with a great plan to get that done.”
After Saturday’s affair the Commodores host Missouri on Oct. 30, take the next weekend off and then conclude the home schedule against Kentucky on Nov. 13.
• Vanderbilt punter Harrison Smith ranks 36th nationally with an average of 43.9 yards per punt.
• Vanderbilt wide receiver Will Sheppard ranks 66th nationally with 453 receiving yards and is 69th with 4.9 receptions per game.
• The Commodores have had at least two interceptions in three games this season, the first time that has happened since 2018.
• Vandy’s four takeaways against South Carolina were its most since recording four against Nevada in 2018.
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
