Oct. 23, 2011
We are seven games into the season and Zac Stacy is running like the Commodores are playing their first games of the year. So what, you ask? Well, it is a dramatic reversal from what Vanderbilt fans have seen in Stacy since the slippery running back arrived on campus in 2009.
In each of his previous years, Stacy has been injured or at the very least dinged up at this point in the season. He has never played an entire 12-game season.
We are now past the midway point of the season and Stacy is running the best he has as a Commodore. Saturday, he rushed for 198 yards and three touchdowns – the third most rushing yards in a game by any Commodore.
That’s right, not since the great Frank Mordica rumbled for a school-record 321 yards against Air Force in 1978 had another Commodore rushed for as many yards as Stacy did Saturday. Stacy’s three touchdowns were also the most by a Commodore since Cassen Jackson-Garrison also had three in 2007.
Despite the success, the ever-humble Stacy would much rather talk about getting the win than his personal accolades.
“it is always good to help the team win from a stats standpoint, but at the same time, regardless if I have 199 or 34 [yards] we got the win and that is all that counts,” Stacy said.
Stacy very well could have eclipsed 200 yards on the ground, but instead moved aside at the end of the game as Jerron Seymour and Micah Powell took carries with the game out of reach. Stacy said after the game he didn’t know how close he was to 200 yards, but he also said he did not really care how many yards he finished with.
The junior back is the healthiest he has been at this point in the season since he arrived on campus and it is evident by the way he is running. He is cutting back across the grain of plays, making people miss and outrunning defenders to the pylon. He is looking like the same back that gained 133 yards in his Commodore debut in 2009.
Stacy admits that this is the healthiest he has been this late in the season and his legs are “pretty fresh,” and he’ll tell you why, but none of the reasons are because of anything he is doing.
“It just goes back to the coaches,” Stacy said. “They do a great job of subbing guys in and out. They do a great job of taking care of us from a practice standpoint, and practicing smart. We have some of the best trainers in the country and they do a great job of getting guys in there and keeping them healthy.”
Stacy is extremely selfless, but it seems as though the Commodores are better when he is selfish with the football. When Stacy carries the ball at least 17 times, he has gained no fewer than 89 yards. Saturday Stacy carried the ball 21 times – a career high. Last week against Georgia he carried it 17 times for 97 yards.
Thanks, in part to Stacy, the Commodores have gained 544 yards on the ground the last two weeks – a noted increase from the previous two games where the team had a total of 45 yards rushing.
“I don’t know if we’ve found something,” Head Coach James Franklin said. “We’re getting better. We are starting to show somewhat of an identity, but we still have to be able to throw the ball more consistently and we have to eliminate the negative plays on the offensive side of the ball.”
The improved rushing attack has not been all about Stacy. Credit must also go to the offensive line and quarterback Jordan Rodgers. The line did not allow a sack tonight and has only surrendered one in the last three games. The last two weeks, the line has opened holes wide enough to drive an 18-wheeler through.
Individually, Rodgers has been fleet on his feet. Saturday he picked up 96 yards on 18 carries. Against Georgia, Rodgers rushed for 80 yards.
“It definitely adds a dimension,” Franklin said of Rodgers’ rushing ability. “That is a strength of his and it has definitely really helped us. It helped us last week and it helped us again tonight.”
The two-pronged rushing attack of Rodgers and Stacy has proven to be difficult to slow down.
But then again, very little of it has to do with Stacy … at least according to him.
“Most of it was the offensive line,” Stacy said of the team’s yardage. “Those guys did a great job of coming out and creating a seam for not only me, but Jordan and Seymour to run through.”
At the end of a line of questioning, it appeared Stacy was ready to finally give himself some credit. He agreed this is the best he is running during his career, but he quickly moved on to crediting others.
“It just goes back to Coach Galt and his strength and conditioning program.”
Stacy can continue to credit others all he wants, but what he is doing has much to do with why Vanderbilt’s offense is looking much different than it has in recent years.
Slowing Down Army’s Rushing Attack
Army entered the game as the nation’s top rushing offense and also led the nation in time of possession, but the Commodores played Army’s game better than the Black Knights on Saturday.
Vanderbilt outgained Army 344 to 270 on the ground and held the ball for nearly 10 minutes longer (34:15 to 25:45) than Army.
“I think we played well on defense,” Franklin said. “Offensively, we put our defense in tough spots with critical mistakes, but also we were able to run the ball to help our defense and control time of possession. Whenever you can take the team that is leading the nation in rushing and outrush them, that is a positive; and a team that goes for it as much as they do on fourth down to control the clock – I think those were two very important factors in the game.”
A large factor in slowing down Army’s rushing attack was Vanderbilt’s ability to once again force turnovers. Vanderbilt forced five fumbles and recovered three of them.
“(Forcing the fumbles) is huge, especially when you get the turnover,” defensive tackle Rob Lohr said. “In the last couple of games we hadn’t gotten many turnovers, so it was nice to force some turnovers and get back on track.”
Butler Moves to Linebacker
Before Saturday, Karl Butler had never played linebacker in his entire career. Not once even in Pop Warner. That changed against Army when Butler was inserted into the game during the first half for the injured Chase Garnham. Butler, a safety by trade, filled in remarkably well, collecting four tackles and recovering a fumble.
The move to linebacker was made by Coach Franklin and staff on Thursday to add depth to a position that is extremely thin.
“You guys know we have depth issues at linebacker,” Franklin said. “Basically, Thursday we moved him to linebacker this week for depth issues so that we’d have a plan. We had an opportunity to move him and he played extremely well.”
At times it appeared Vanderbilt was playing nickel with Butler in the game when in fact it was not. Butler, a sophomore, is listed at 6-0, 200 pounds and has a little bit smaller frame than former Commodore Brent Trice, who made the switch from safety to linebacker during his career.
“Basically I was just doing what the coaches asked me to do,” Butler said. “I really didn’t ask any questions. I appreciated the coaching from Coach (Brent) Pry, and Coach (Bob) Shoop gave me a vote of confidence and it worked out tonight.
Butler said that the preparation for potentially playing linebacker was assisted by the fact the Commodores were playing Army this week. That meant that the safeties were to mirror what the linebackers did in practice.
“The only difference was that we played closer to the line.”
Points Coming in Bunches
After having stagnant offensive performances in losses to South Carolina and Georgia, Vanderbilt has put up large point totals in its last two games. After scoring 28 against Georgia, Vanderbilt scored 44 against Army.
Asked about the explosion in points, Franklin joked about whether he was happy with the point production the last two weeks.
“If you can bank them and use them later in the season,” he quipped. “The most important thing is you get one more point than the team you are playing.”
Rodgers Settling in
Quarterback Jordan Rodgers did most of his damage with his legs Saturday, gaining 96 yards on 18 carries, but he was also able to do enough in the passing game to keep the defense on its toes. He finished 10-of-27 for 186 yards and appears to have found a favorite target in Chris Boyd. Boyd caught four passes for 90 yards, but was targeted many more times.
One of Rodgers’ passes to Boyd went for 43 yards and a touchdown. Rodgers also had deep passes to Wesley Tate for 33 yards and Jonathan Krause for 41 yards.
Rodgers believes he is becoming more comfortable in the pocket and is benefitting from the starting role.
“As a backup quarterback you never really know when you are going to go in,” Rodgers said. “It is just nice knowing I am going to be in there from the first play and be able to set the tone and get in a rhythm.”
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