Oct. 16, 2011
Catch your breath yet?
Although the Commodores lost 33-28 to Georgia Saturday night, those in attendance took in one of the wildest games in recent Vanderbilt history. A game that at one point looked as if it may be lopsided ended with fans clinging to the edge of their seats.
On four different occasions, Vanderbilt clawed its way back from a double-digit deficit to pull within single digits, but in the end, Vanderbilt came up one play short.
How often have you seen a fake punt from a team’s own 22-yard line, a halfback pass, a triple reverse, an onside kick, a blocked punt and a kickoff return for a touchdown in a season? Probably not very often. How about in a single game? Maybe never … until tonight at least.
If you are looking for exciting football, you don’t have to look further than West End Avenue. Head Coach James Franklin has pledged to Vanderbilt fans that they would see an aggressive approach, and he has meant it.
Time and time again, Vanderbilt has opened up its bag of tricks with plays you probably used to draw up in the backyard. And more often than not, Vanderbilt has been successful with those plays.
Take a two-play sequence in the second quarter. Faced with a 4th and 13 from Vanderbilt’s 22-yard line, Franklin elects for a fake punt. Ryan Fowler – subbing for starting punter Richard Kent – tossed a spiral to snapper Andrew East for a 35-yard gain. On the very next play, running back Zac Stacy tosses a halfback pass 43 yards to Jordan Matthews for a touchdown.
“I hadn’t even seen that play in practice,” said quarterback Jordan Rodgers. “It was great. We are going to be gutsy, we are going to take shots and we are going try to catch some teams off guard.”
“When I say we are going to play aggressive on offense and defense and special teams, we are going to play that way,” Franklin said. “If we go to fake a punt or look to do something special on kickoffs and you are looking for someone to blame, blame me. But I want my coaches to call the game aggressively and go win the game. Don’t play not to lose.”
The aggressiveness Franklin has instilled in his team was on full display Saturday, and it wasn’t just in the play calling. The team was aggressive on defense and refused to back down to the Bulldogs even when they tried to bully the Commodores. It was the most physical game of the season and Vanderbilt did not back down.
Words were exchanged throughout the game and extracurricular activities took place many times after the whistle had blown. The aggressiveness boiled over at the end of the game as the two teams faced one another and jawed back and forth before being separated by the coaching staffs.
“It was definitely a grown folks conversation out there,” wide receiver Chris Boyd said. “It wasn’t anything you want your children to hear.”
In the end, the Commodores came up just short, but the growth of the program was evident again. Despite getting down by large deficits on multiple occasions, the team kept fighting its way back and did not let the opponent push them around. Instead of letting Georgia continually punch them in the mouth, Vanderbilt punched back – something that hasn’t always been the case in the past.
“We are going to fight,” Franklin said. “We are not going to sit back and take stuff from anybody. Those days are long gone and they are never coming back .. ever.”
What a Finish
After an interception by Georgia seemingly ended the game with 1:10 to play, Vanderbilt incredibly found itself in position to win the game.
The Commodores used its two remaining timeouts and forced the Bulldogs to punt, but they never were able to get the punt off. With 15 seconds to play, Vanderbilt’s Udom Umoh blocked Georgia’s punt and gave the Commodores two final plays to get it into the end zone from the 25-yard line after a false start. Rodgers had his first pass just fall incomplete to Chris Boyd in the end zone after a Georgia defensive back tipped the ball.
“It was a good look by Jordan,” Boyd said. “The Georgia safety got over just in time and got a finger on it. If he didn’t get a finger on it, I am pretty sure I would have reeled it in. It hurts.”
With one second remaining, Rodgers’ final pass was to Brandon Barden who was tackled at the 16-yard line.
Rodgers Replaces Smith
Junior Jordan Rodgers replaced quarterback Larry Smith with 12:24 to play in the second quarter after Smith had thrown two interceptions. Coach Franklin did not publicly name a starting quarterback during the week and would not say who would be the starting quarterback going forward after the game.
But he did praise Rodgers for his play.
“(Jordan) made some plays and he fought like crazy,” Franklin said. “There are a lot of things that we need to get cleaned up with all of our players, including Jordan. He definitely made some plays with his feet and he competed like crazy.”
Rodgers was unable to get much going through the air so he took to the ground. He gained 80 yards rushing, which included a 40-yard run.
Hal to the House
With Vanderbilt trailing 23-7, a 96-yard kick return by Andre Hal helped trigger Vanderbilt’s comeback. Hal raced through the hole and outran the kicker for the team’s first kick return for a touchdown since Warren Norman against Georgia Tech in 2009.
“My blockers did a good job all night,” Hal said. “It was just one block away every time and I got that one time and I took it to the house.”
Stacy on Halfback Pass
We have seen Zac Stacy attempt a halfback pass before, but never had he thrown as far down the field as he did Saturday. With Vanderbilt trailing 10-0, Stacy connected with Jordan Matthews for a 43-yard touchdown.
It was the longest pass Stacy had ever thrown in a game during all his years of playing football.
“You get a little anxious, but at the same time you have to be patient and let the play open up,” Stacy said.
Third-Down Turnaround
It has been well documented that Vanderbilt entered the game last in the country in third down conversions, and on Saturday, Vanderbilt appeared destined for another dreadful performance on third down. The team converted just one of its first seven third downs before converting three of its last five. Vanderbilt finished 8-of-18 on third down.
Touchdowns Before the Half
For the third straight game, Vanderbilt surrendered a touchdown just before the half. South Carolina and Alabama had previously scored just before intermission and Georgia did as well on Saturday when Aaron Murray connected with Marlon Brown from 27 yards out.
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