Oct. 8, 2016
By Zac Ellis
VUCommodores.com
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Vanderbilt found itself knocking on the door of a second straight road win on Saturday. But this time, the Commodores fell short.
Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-3 SEC) dropped a tough 20-13 loss at Kentucky (3-3, 2-2 SEC) at Commonwealth Stadium. Here are three thoughts from the ‘Dores’ setback:
1. Discipline cost Vanderbilt in the final moments.
Despite a sluggish afternoon offensively, Vanderbilt managed to engineer a potential game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter. But untimely mistakes spelled doom for the ‘Dores final shot at the end zone.
After Kentucky knocked in a field goal to build a 20-13 lead with 1:33 to play, the Commodores began a drive on their own 28-yard line. Shurmur then led Vandy’s hurry-up offense to the Kentucky 8-yard line facing a first-and-goal with 20 seconds to play. A touchdown and an extra point would tie the game for Vanderbilt.
But the Commodores shot themselves in the feet in the red zone. A Shurmur pass to tight end Jared Pinkney in the corner of the end zone went through the redshirt freshman’s hands. Two plays later, a delay-of-game penalty pushed Vanderbilt back to the 13-yard line. Shurmur’s fourth-down attempt to Kalija Limpscomb went out of bounds, turning the ball over on downs and securing the win for Kentucky.
Though the Commodores’ offense found a rhythm with tempo in the waning moments, execution cost them a shot at an SEC road win. “It’s what Coach [Derek] Mason talks about all the time: just attention to detail,” wide receiver Trent Sherfield said. “The small things, all the details, they all matter.”
Shurmur, who completed six passes on Vanderbilt’s final drive, said the Commodores’ issue is simple. “We have to finish,” Shurmur said. “That’s it.”
2. The Commodores could not slow Kentucky’s run game.
One week after holding Florida to just 92 yards on the ground, Vanderbilt had little answer for Kentucky’s run game. The Wildcats used a balance attack to lull the ‘Dores asleep, reeling off 258 yards and two touchdowns on 52 attempts (5.0 per carry). In the end, four players recorded at least nine carries for Kentucky, allowing it to maintain a fresh backfield all afternoon.
In fact, the Wildcats’ final scoring drive – a 13-play, 56-yard series late in the fourth quarter – featured 12 straight runs before a field goal. “I thought we didn’t control the line of scrimmage like we needed to,” Mason said. “Late in the game, when we needed to get them off the field, we didn’t.”
The ‘Cats’ rushing attack nullified an ineffective passing effort by quarterback Stephen Johnson. Vanderbilt held the signal-caller to just 10-of-24 passing for 59 yards and an interception, but Mason’s defense struggled to limit the dual-threat passer on the ground; Johnson ran 10 times for 55 yards and one score.
3. An early mistake on special teams was game-changer in this matchup.
With 3:49 left in the first quarter, Vanderbilt forced a Kentucky punt facing an early 7-3 deficit. The stop came deep in Wildcat territory, meaning the Commodores had a chance to field the punt with solid field position around midfield. Then, with a nice drive on offense, Vandy could take an early lead on the road.
Instead, the opportunity was wasted. Ryan White fumbled the punt return, Kentucky recovered the ball on the Vanderbilt 47 and turned the ‘Dores’ mistake into a Johnson touchdown run 13 plays later. Just like that, the Commodores trailed 14-3 early in the second quarter.
Vanderbilt certainly had chances to erase that mistake later in the contest. But breaks in the game only come so often on the road in SEC play. White’s fumble – and Kentucky’s ensuing touchdown – halted a momentum-turning moment. (White also fumbled a second punt late in the third quarter, but the Commodores recovered it.)
Mason said execution on special teams remains a point of emphasis for his roster. “We put it on the ground a couple of times, and that was scary,” Mason said. “One time was costly, the other time we got it back.”