Oct. 8, 2012
Monday Press Conference & Quotes
Every win is big, but winning on the road in league play is something special. Saturday, the Commodores did just that by marching into Missouri and bringing home a 19-15 victory. It was the team’s first SEC road win under Coach James Franklin and just Vanderbilt’s second league win away from home since 2008. The Commodores won at Ole Miss in 2010.
It was clear that Saturday’s win meant a lot to the program and was a hurdle the squad had been striving to clear under Franklin.
“Wins in general, we love them,” Franklin said. “Obviously, we are are all aware (that) being able to win in the conference on the road is something that is very challenging. You look historically and just look at this year at some of the good teams that have gone on the road and had a hard time winning. I don’t think there is any doubt that myself, the staff and the players understand the significance of going on the road and winning in a tough environment.”
An outsider looking at the box score for the first time would see that the majority of stats were in favor of Missouri. But at the end of the day, what won Vanderbilt the game could not be fully measured by numbers.
Vanderbilt used an unrelenting will to succeed, avoided costly mistakes by playing smart, disciplined football in all three phases of the game and took full advantage of Missouri’s miscues.
It was also evident that the Commodores also got stronger as the game wore on.
For Exhibit A, one must not looker further than Zac Stacy’s final carry – his 29th of the game. On third-and-nine, with one first down needed to win the game, Stacy took a handoff around the left side of the line, bounced off a would-be tackler and carried it 13 yards. Two snaps in the victory formation was all that remained.
“We can count on him to make the play when we need him to,” wide receiver Chris Boyd said Monday. “That third-down run he had in the game where we needed a first down to seal the victory; he ran really hard on that play, broke a few tackles and stayed in bounds.”
Now as Vanderbilt enters this week’s matchup with No. 4/6 Florida (5 p.m. CT, ESPNU), a record of 2-3 feels a lot different than 1-4 as we approach the midpoint of the season.
Special Teams Recognized
Franklin refers to special teams as “we-fense,” and considers it to be the most crucial of the three aspects of the game. The importance is illustrated by the personnel used on special teams and the weekly special teams meetings, which include the entire team.
While the offense and the defense are the two aspects of the game that are most scrutinized publicly, special teams can play just as important of a role in whether a team wins or loses a game.
Vanderbilt and Missouri saw this firsthand on Saturday. Missouri’s punter dropped a snap in the end zone for a safety, MU defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson was penalized 15 yards for leaping over the shield of blockers on a Vanderbilt punt, which resulted in VU’s first touchdown, and the Tigers failed to get a snap down on an extra point attempt to tie the game at 16 in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt was nearly flawless on special teams. Punter Richard Kent was named SEC Co-Specialist of the Week after averaging 45.2 yards on six punts, including two that were inside the 20 and just one that was returned. Additionally, place kicker Carey Spear made his only field goal attempt from 21 yards out and successfully executed a pooch punt that was downed at the 2-yard line. The entire effort by the special teams unit also gave Missouri an average start position at its own 26-yard line.
“It’s all about placement on the field, and being able to punt the ball inside the 10-yard line is a huge advantage for the defense,” defensive tackle Rob Lohr said. “As you saw, it resulted in the safety. Richard (Kent) has been playing really well and field position is such an advantage, especially for a defense.”
In addition to Vanderbilt’s kicking game playing well, its punt return game is also improved. Jordan Matthews was inserted into Vanderbilt’s game against Presbyterian as a punt returner, and he hasn’t disappointed. The junior wide receiver hasn’t lit up the return game with many long returns, but what he has done is consistently helped provide good field position.
Matthews has done so by averaging 8.4 yards per return and catching the majority of punts, thus not allowing the opposing team to down the ball deep in Vanderbilt territory.
On Saturday at Missouri, Matthews only returned one punt for six yards but he fair caught three others with the exception of one punt that landed in the end zone and was a Vanderbilt touchback.
“He’s really good at getting to the ball and not letting it bounce around,” wide receiver Chris Boyd said. “He gets vertical fast and that is one of his weapons. He’s quick and he’s vertical as soon as he gets the ball which helps change the field.”
Another Top-10 Foe On Deck
First it was No. 9 South Carolina; then it was at No. 5 Georgia and this Saturday it is No. 4 Florida. The road in the SEC is never easy, and the Commodores are getting a dose early on this season of just how challenging this league can be. Vanderbilt is the only school in the league to play three top 10 opponents in its first six games. Missouri will face its third top 10 opponent this week (No. 1 Alabama) in its seventh game of the season.
Two other teams will have faced as many or more ranked opponents (at the time of their meeting) after this weekend, but none have played as many top teams through six games as the Commodores. Tennessee will play its third ranked foe in its sixth game on Saturday at Mississippi State and Kentucky played four ranked opponents in its first six games.
While daunting to some, the task of playing the best teams in the nation motivates players such as Chris Boyd.
“It’s fun because you get to play the best of the best,” Boyd said. “You have to come ready to play every week. It’s fun getting to play the top teams in the country every week. We believe that if we have a good week of practice, we’ll be able to make plays as long as we execute.”
No Passing Zone
Vanderbilt knocked eight passes out of the air against Missouri on Saturday. The total was a season high and more than the Commodores had in any game last season with the exception of the Arkansas game when Vanderbilt also broke up eight passes, including six by Casey Hayward.
Four the breakups against Missouri were courtesy of the team’s defensive line. On Monday, Franklin commended the defensive line, but also knows there is room for improvement.
“I think going into to this, we felt like the strength of our defense was the D-line and probably the secondary,” Franklin said. “I would say the D-line is playing solid. I still have higher expectations for them. I’d still like to get a little more disruption, a little more pressure on the quarterback.”
Throwing the Deep Ball
Through the first four games of the season, Vanderbilt has had a propensity for big plays in the passing game. Against Missouri, Chris Boyd, Jordan Matthews and Jordan Rodgers – yes, that Jordan Rodgers – each hauled in passes of at least 24 yards.
Big plays in the passing game are nothing new to Vanderbilt’s offense as of late. In the last 14 games, Vanderbilt has had at least one reception of 30 yards or more in each contest. In 11 of those 14 games, the Commodores have had a pass go for at least 40 yards.
Against Florida, hitting the deep ball will be an important ingredient for moving the ball against the Gators’ stingy defense.
“If you get three yards in this game on a run, you’re happy with it,” Franklin said. “You just have to try to keep grinding it out. You’re going to have to make plays down the field. That is what we were able to do last year in the second half.”
Much of Vanderbilt’s success going downfield the last two years has been to Boyd and Matthews. The two will again be counted on Saturday.
“You better either be big and be able to win the jump ball situations, which we’ve shown we’ve been able to do that at times, or you better be unbelievably fast to be able to run past people,” Franklin remarked. “You’ve got to do one of two things. We’ve shown that we can win some one-on-one battles over the last season and a half. We’ve been able to do that at times and we have to that more consistently to win those types of games.”
Statistically Speaking
With each passing game, conference and national statistical rankings become even stronger indications for how a team is performing on the field. And for Vanderbilt, the rankings are very favorable, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
Nationally, Vanderbilt ranks in the top 40 in six statistical categories. Vanderbilt’s most success has been against the pass, where the Commodores rank 10th, surrendering just 162.40 yards per game. The average ranks third in the conference to LSU and Alabama. Vanderbilt’s pass efficiency defense ranks 19th nationally and seventh in the SEC.
In total defense, Vanderbilt ranks 33rd, while in scoring defense, the Commodores are ranked 36th. In the SEC, Vanderbilt ranks seventh in the two statistical categories. Lastly on defense, Vanderbilt is tied for 34th with an average of 6.80 tackles for loss per game.
On special teams, the Commodores rank 15th in net punting (40.9). The mark is fifth best in the league.
Individually, a few Commodores are also performing exceptionally well based on their statistical performance. Most notably has been wide receiver Jordan Matthews. The junior leads the sec with 7.0 receptions per game and ranks second in receiving yards per game (97.2). Matthews also ranks fourth in punt return average (12.3) and fourth in all purpose yards (115.6). Nationally, Matthews is tied for 16th in receptions per game and 17th in receiving yard per game.
Quarterback Jordan Rodgers is sixth in the league with a passing average of 207.8 yards per game. Rodgers is also seventh in total offense (216.8).
Punter Richard Kent ranks fifth in the league and 16th nationally with an average of 45.2 yards per punt. Kicker Carey Spear leads the SEC in field goals made per game with an average of 1.80. Spear also leads the league in field-goal percentage, having made 81.8 percent of his kicks (9-of-11).
Safety Kenny Ladler is seventh in the SEC in tackles with an average of 8.8 stops per game. Linebacker Karl Butler is tied for seventh with 1.20 tackles for loss per outing.
Defensive back Andre Hal is tied for sixth in the leave with 1.00 passes defended per game.