Oct. 24, 2011
The Commodores have been particularly good at home this season where they are 4-1 overall, but on Saturday they will face their stiffest competition yet when No. 8 Arkansas rolls into town for an 11:21 a.m. CT matchup on SEC Network.
Arkansas is 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in the SEC with its lone loss coming at Alabama. The Commodores will enter Saturday’s game following a 44-21 win over Army last weekend.
“Anytime you get a chance to play at home you’ve got a little bit of an advantage,” quarterback Jordan Rodgers said. “Us being 4-1 at home is big for us. We need to win our home games and win in front of our home crowd.”
A win for Vanderbilt on Saturday would mark the first time the team has won five games at home since the 1974 season when Steve Sloan guided the Commodores to a 5-0-1 record at home.
The main difference between the Commodores at home as opposed to on the road this season has been the play of the offense. Vanderbilt averages 366 yards per game at home compared to 133 yards per game on the road. Vanderbilt has also scored 171 of its 174 points at home.
Saturday, the Commodores will face an Arkansas team that hasn’t exactly been shutting opponents down. The Razorbacks rank 10th in the league in total defense, allowing 387.3 yards per game, including an average of 213 yards on the ground. Arkansas’ weakness on defense should play into the hands of Vanderbilt’s offense, which is yet to get its passing game clicking on all cylinders, but has its running game rolling. In each of the last two games, Vanderbilt has gained at least 200 yards on the ground.
The biggest adjustment the Commodores will need to make this week will fall on the defensive side of the ball. After facing the triple-option attack of Army, Vanderbilt will now need to brace for an offense that throws the ball more than it runs it. Arkansas’ passing game is averaging 321 yards through the air and ranks ninth nationally and first in the SEC.
Arkansas’ offensive attack has been led by junior Tyler Wilson, who has thrown for more than 2,000 yards and has 12 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
“He can make every throw and that is what you want out of your quarterback,” linebacker Chris Marve said. “He moves his feet well. He knows how to step up into the pocket. He reads through his progressions well. He is going to be a challenge for us and we are definitely looking forward to it as a defense.”
Overall, Arkansas’ offense is ranked 22nd nationally in yardage (462.14) and 19th in scoring (37.71).
In some ways, the challenge of stopping Arkansas’ offense also falls somewhat on the shoulders of Vanderbilt’s offense, which must put together long drives to manage the clock – something it was able to do against Army when the Commodores held the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer than the Black Knights, who led the nation in time of possession.
“The offense we are facing this week has the ability to quick strike, score a lot of points, so we need to sustain drives and put points up on the board as always,” Rodgers said. “Our defense is going to play well, and they have been playing well. It is our job as an offense to back them up, put points up and give us a chance to win.”
No bowl talk
Vanderbilt is two wins away from reaching bowl eligibility with five games to play, but the topic couldn’t be further from the team’s mind according to Coach Franklin and players.
“I know (the team) is getting conversations from people in the community, people on campus, family members, uncles, cousins that think they know what they are talking about,” Franklin said. “I called home and talked to my sister yesterday and my brother-in-law gets on the phone and like everybody he wants to give me his two cents about what we should be doing or how we should do it. I understand the players get it as well, but not from our coaching staff, not from within.”
Even Jordan Rodgers echoed Franklin’s comments.
“Nothing is guaranteed in the SEC,” Rodgers said. “We’ve seen that the past two years. We haven’t had a good winning percentage so we need to focus on each game. It is not going to be an easy road. We need to take it one game at a time. Nothing is guaranteed; a bowl game is never guaranteed especially when we haven’t played well in the past.”
Statistically Speaking
Now that the Commodores are beyond the halfway point of the season, there is beginning to be a more accurate depiction of just where the Commodores rank in many statistical categories.
If it wasn’t already noticeable on the field, it is evident by the numbers that Vanderbilt’s defense has taken many large steps forward this season and is statistically among the nation’s best units.
Vanderbilt is ranked among the nation’s top 33 schools in four key statistical measures.
– Total Defense: 23rd (323.86 ypg)
– Scoring Defense: 33rd (21.57 ppg)
– Passing Defense: 25th (191.29)
– Pass Efficiency Defense: 22nd (113.33)
Vanderbilt also ranks 22nd in tackles for loss and 38th in turnover margin.
Vanderbilt’s defense has also been strong by SEC standards. When measured in SEC competition, Vanderbilt ranks fifth in the league in scoring defense (23.8 ppg) and fourth in rushing defense (121.5 ypg).
The Commodores have also been particularly stingy in the red zone, where they rank second in the league in red-zone defense. Team’s have only scored 70% of the time (7-of-10) against Vanderbilt when it has advanced to the 20-yard line.
Rodgers Wants to be a Pocket Quarterback
In the last two weeks, quarterback Jordan Rodgers has relied heavily on his legs to create offense. He has been extremely successful at scrambling for yardage and has gained 80 and 96 yards rushing in the last two games, respectively. However, he knows that in order for the offense to improve, he must develop into more of a passing quarterback.
“I would like to use my feet when necessary,” Rodgers said. “There are a couple of situations on film where I would like to stay in the pocket for a half second longer and deliver the ball. I definitely want to be a pass-first quarterback. That’s what I want to be and that is what this offense needs.”
Rodgers ran the ball 18 times on Saturday, nearly as many times as running back Zac Stacy (21), but he is not concerned about injuries.
“I just have to be smart about it, not take any unnecessary hits, get down when I need to,” Rodgers said. “I can take a little bit of a beating, but I’d like not to. That’s just being smart when I run the ball.”
Butler Applauded for his Play
After making the move from safety to linebacker just two days before Vanderbilt’s game against Army, sophomore Karl Butler was again recognized by Coach Franklin at Monday’s press conference.
“I was very proud of him and how he handled that situation,” Franklin said. “I used that as an example in our team meeting on Sunday and our whole team stood up and gave him a standing ovation. How he handled that situation is exactly what we are looking for here. What we are trying to build is a team first mentality; guys that are going to put what is in the best interest of their team and teammates first.”
Franklin also noted that Butler’s move to linebacker to play a run-oriented team such as Army was significantly more difficult than it would be this week against a pass-oriented team like Arkansas.
“It probably is not as significant of a difference this week as it was last week,” Franklin said. “A lot of times you use those (defensive backs) as outside linebackers in nickel situations. With this team – as well as they throw the ball – it probably is not as dramatic of a change. But for last week, very much so.”
Norman’s Role in Practice
A much talked about subject by the fan base throughout the season has been the status of junior running back Warren Norman. The previous two years, Norman has teamed with Zac Stacy to form one of Vanderbilt’s top running back duos. Stacy has been without his backfield partner throughout the season as Norman has been recovering from injury.
On Monday, Franklin addressed Norman’s status and once again did not rule out the possibility of Norman playing at some point this season.
“He’s been great all year long,” Franklin said. “He’s been involved the same all year long. He takes reps in practice, he works in. If we need him, like I mentioned before, we will use him at any point if we feel like we need him to win or if he gives us the best chance to win.”
Franklin also joked about how good Norman looked running the football at practice on Sunday, a day after Stacy gained 198 yards on the ground.
“I kind of joked with him yesterday because he came through and he looked really good coming through,” Franklin quipped. “I kind of joked with one of the other coaches and him that after seeing Zac rush for 200 yards maybe it is motivating him a little bit more that he needs to get back as fast as possible.”
You can follow me on 
Twitter @SchulzRyan
