NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It is showdown Saturday in Nashville.
Vanderbilt hosts No. 23 Wake Forest on Saturday morning at FirstBank Stadium and is looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 2017 and to beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2019.
The Commodores (2-0) are coming of a 42-31 win over visiting Elon last week, a victory in which they held leads of 21-0 and 35-10 before a sloppy fourth quarter made the final outcome a little too close for comfort. Vandy has been led by the efforts of quarterback Mike Wright who has thrown for 391 yards and rushed for 247 more – the junior has accounted for 10 total touchdowns.
Wake Forest opened its season with a 44-10 victory over the Virginia Military Institute on Sept. 1. The bigger news for the Demon Deacons, however, is that they get the return of quarterback Sam Hartman. Hartman is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the nation and will be considered one of the best quarterbacks in Wake Forest history when his career ends.
Vandy and Wake Forest have met 16 previous times and the Commodores hold a 10-6 edge in the all-time series.
Here is more on how to watch, listen to and follow Saturday’s contest as well as five key matchups to consider when the Commodores face the Demon Deacons:
When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Location: FirstBankStadium (40,375)
Television: SEC Network
Broadcast Crew
Dave Neal (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (analyst) and Andraya Carter (sideline)
Channel Finder
AT&T | Xfinity | DISH | Comcast
Streaming
Vanderbilt Sports Network from Learfield
Announcers: Andrew Allegretta (play-by-play), Norman Jordan (analyst), Kevin Ingram (sideline)
On-Air Time: 11 a.m.
Affiliates: Nashville WQZQ 93.3 FM; Chattanooga WALV 95.3 FM; Lewisburg WJJM 1490 AM, 94.3 FM; Memphis WMPS 1210 AM, 103.1 FM
Satellite: SiriusXM 191; SiriusXM online 962
Tickets
Social
Twitter: @VandyFootball and @VandyNotes
Instagram: @VandyFootball
Facebook: @VanderbiltFootball
Streaming Audio
Vanderbilt Athletics App (Free)
Weather
75 degrees at kickoff, 60 percent chance of rain
1. ‘Wake’ Up!
Saturday’s matchup will be the first of the season for either team that kicks off before noon. Who will bring the juice first?
With rain in the forecast, energy on the sidelines could be at a premium when toe meets leather at FirstBank Stadium. And Vanderbilt has not gotten off to great starts in two games this season, falling behind 7-0 at Hawai’i and going 3-and-out offensively in the opening drive against Elon.
“We need to be ready before we begin,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said. “That’s one of our guiding principles as a program. It’s a four-quarter game, but you can’t – particularly with this offense, you’d love to play from a position of a lead. That will take them out of their base rhythm.
“We’ve got to be ready to go.”
Look for which team does the better job of getting off to a fast start as that will go a long way in determining the final outcome.
2. Mesh of a Situation
Vanderbilt’s defense will face an offense it has never faced before and, likely, won’t face again until it travels to Wake Forest next season.
The Demon Deacons run a system created and perfected by offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero and head coach Dave Clawson. It’s an attack based on the run-pass option, but it is made unique by the Wake Forest quarterback keeping the ball in the ‘mesh’ of the running back’s jersey as he waits to identify the best choice for the development of the play.
“Our ability to play our style and our identity, to dictate terms on our side defensively — that’s going to be a big part of this,” Lea said. “Then winning the turnover battle, too. I think that’s another thing that I would just say (Clawson) has done a great job with his teams over time, is focusing on possession of the ball. If we can turn them over, it’s going to obviously position us to have success, and our ability to maintain possession on our side and extend drives and finish with touchdowns.
“You have to score touchdowns to beat these teams that are that are high scoring in this manner. So defending this offense will occur in all three phases of our approach, and that’s similar to conversations we’ve had in our league too where you have high-powered offenses and you need to do the best you can to limit points so that you have a chance to win point differential.”
In 2021, Wake Forest scored 41 points per game, the fourth-highest output in the nation.
3. Ball Security
Wake Forest made its way to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in 2021 and a big reason for that was its defense’s ability to change possession.
The Demon Deacons had 29 takeaways in 2021 which led the ACC and ranked fifth nationally. And Wake Forest’s 14 fumble recoveries were the second-most in the nation.
Vanderbilt, who had at least one giveaway in 15 straight games dating to the 2020 season, has not lost a turnover so far in 2022.
4. Harassing Hartman
Earlier this week, the Wake Forest football program and Wake Forest University announced that Hartman, a junior quarterback, had been cleared to play after being diagnosed with Paget-Schroetter syndrome, or effort thrombosis. Hartman’s status coming into the 2022 season was very much up in the air.
Now, the Charlotte, North Carolina, product will make his highly-anticipated ’22 debut for the Demon Deacons on Saturday.
Hartman threw for 4,228 yards and completed 39 touchdown passes last season. He is a major key to Wake Forest’s past, present and future success.
Vanderbilt and defensive coordinator Nick Howell will have to find creative ways to hinder the success of Hartman, the best quarterback they have faced to this point of the season.
5. Best. Game. Yet.
Saturday’s matchup marks the 15th game for Vanderbilt with Lea on the sideline as the head coach of the Commodores. There have undoubtedly been some big moments in the previous 14, like the former fullback’s debut as a head coach, his first victory, his first victory at home and his first game back in the Southeastern Conference.
But Saturday’s contest has a different feel with Vandy being on a two-game winning streak for the first time since the end of the 2018 regular season, SEC Network being on campus and a ranked, nonconference opponent coming to town.
Thus, Vandy has to play its crispest, cleanest and most-combative game of the Lea Era yet. Anything less will not be up to standard.
(6.) Commodores in the Commons
A festive weekend on campus begins Friday afternoon and runs through Saturday’s highly-anticipated matchup between the Dores and Deacs.
Beginning at 2 p.m. Friday, Paul Finebaum will broadcast his popular Paul Finebaum Show live from the Commons Lawn near 21st Avenue South and Edgehill Avenue. That show, on SEC Network, will feature appearances by Lea, Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Lee and Vanderbilt University chancellor Daniel Diermeier and is scheduled to run until 6 p.m.
On Saturday morning, also on the Commons Lawn, Marty Smith and Ryan McGee will be live on set for their show Marty & McGee scheduled to go on air at 8 a.m. That episode will lead directly into SEC Nation beginning at 9 a.m. which will also be broadcast live.
SEC Nation is hosted by Laura Rutledge and this Saturday will feature co-hosts Finebaum, McGee, Smith, Benjamin Watson and former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers. Rodgers is an honorary captain for Saturday’s game.
For complete information on the weekend’s events, click HERE.
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
