<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2iQzmy_0wDXXy7I00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2iQzmy_0wDXXy7I00" width="1210" height="806" ></figure><p>Two weeks. Two wins. Two <b>SEC</b> wins. Vanderbilt is now 4-2 with wins over then-#1 Alabama, Virginia Tech, and Kentucky on the road. The losses are at Missouri and at Georgia State. Okay, yeah, this is weird. It is mostly fun but very weird. So let’s jump straight in to the topics.</p><h2>Lessons We Know Well</h2><p>Vanderbilt must take everyone seriously. If they do, they can win any game. If they do not, they can lose any game. The Georgia State game will remain as proof of that until at least the end of this season. The team does seem to have learned their lesson here. They came out fired up and focused against Kentucky. Coming off the biggest singular win in program history along with a whirlwind of media appearances and awards, it would have been understandable to have some lull. Instead, Vanderbilt dropped the 2nd most points of any opponent on Kentucky behind South Carolina’s 31 and more than Ole Miss’s 17. They also held the Wildcats to their 3rd fewest points (13) scored behind only South Carolina (6) and Georgia (12). Keep taking opponents seriously like that, and wins will keep coming.</p><p>Tim Beck continues to impress. He never seems to run out of wrinkles and little details to exploit defensive missteps. His scheme is designed to spread the ball to every possible option with 6 Commodores having a reception, and all of them actually had more than 1 reception. On the ground, 5 Vanderbilt players got a chance to tote the rock, including Eli Stowers on a QB sneak where Pavia was pretending to have issues with the in-helmet communications. The astounding thing is that I can only remember a play or two all season where I immediately thought it was a bad decision, and that sentiment seems to be shared universally by Commodore fans. Keeping everyone happy in sports is an incredible feat as is having the 30th most points per game at 34.7 PPG.</p><p>The man making the scheme go from golden to certified platinum is Diego Pavia. He is one tough son of a gun. He suffered some sort of knee injury at the end of the first Vanderbilt drive of the 2nd half. The leg was clearly not at full strength the rest of the way, but the former wrestler had a carry of 28 yards on QB power the next drive along with getting into shoving the pile after a handoff. The guts and creativity were also on display for Vanderbilt’s first TD when he stepped up in the pocket to avoid one rusher then ducked to his right to dodge another before finding AJ Newberry all alone in between defenders at the 4 for an easy waltz into end zone. Pavia did have his first interception of the season on a throw he tried to float in to Spence instead of leading him long, but the final stat line of 15 for 18 passing for 143 yards with 2 TDs and the aforementioned interception combined with 14 carries for 53 yards earned him a 87.5 Total QBR. By the way, Pavia leads all SEC QBs in Total QBR during conference games. It will be interesting to see how much he plays against Ball State.</p><p>Eli Stowers was held without a catch, but he took a “QB” sneak for 3 yards and a first down on a drive that became a FG. He also took a pitch off a triple option for a 1st down. It was a quiet day for Stowers, but he has been loud all season. The focus on him probably helped get Spence and others open. I do not see any reason to doubt the effect he will have down the stretch based on this one game.</p><p>This defensive line is causing problems for the opposition. Upgrading this topic from “Learning” to “Know Well” runs counter to the thoughts in the Mailbag. What stood out re-watching the game was the plays they would have made if not for penalties. Defensive linemen did not have a single TFL or sack in Lexington. The team behind them only had 1 sack and 1 more TFL. However, there were 4 holding penalties committed by Kentucky that were all stocking defensive linemen from making plays. The hold might be better than the sack since it is 10 yards every time, though it does re-set the down. Still, they were being disruptive with a defensive plan that was much more zone shell, daring Vandagriff to read them and pick them apart, which he failed to do. It left the DL alone or with maybe 1 extra rusher for most of the night. Outside of a handful of plays, Kentucky was getting bottled up. This group is having an impact. They are not elite or totally taking over games, but the defensive line is generally causing problems and freeing up the linebackers to make their plays.</p><p>Behind them, also getting the assurance level upgrade, Bryan Longwell is a machine. Yes, Langston Patterson is the big name, but Longwell is equalling or surpassing his impact and will need to keep playing at a very high level with Longwell out at least one more week. Nicholas Rinaldi stepped in well, too, having another sack. He has shown some situational promise. Fontenette filled up the stat sheet again with 7 tackles (5 solo) and a PBU. His transfer is an unsung hero of this season with the work he is doing.</p><h2>Lessons We Are Learning</h2><p>Jesse Mirco is nearing elite status, and Brock Taylor is trying to prove his consistency while showing off that massive leg. Mirco, again, had to punt only twice with 1 returned for a big gain by Barion Brown but called back for an illegal block that sprung the return while the other was returned for a loss of 1 to Kentucky’s 5. The kicks were 44 and 45 yards, so the net is sitting pretty. All Taylor did was launch second half FGs through from 49 and 50. He garnered SEC recognition for Specialist of the Week for the second week running. I think his confidence is back. Fine margins mean having high end special teams would be a boon.</p><p>The offensive line is doing what is necessary. They may not be blowing defenders off the ball on ever play, but they are shifting defenders. They are getting hats on a hat to prevent clean tackles. The pass protection falters at times, but it is generally solid. The scheme is generally helping, but the line is doing their share, too.</p><p>The defense is going to be a bend but do not break unit. The talent is not high enough to just go lock teams down for consistent 3 and outs. They are refusing to allow big plays to become TDs though. Obviously, Kentucky’s failed snaps/holds on a FG and a PAT saved 4 points, but forcing the other team to be perfect through the whole game is a pretty good strategy. Most opponents cannot execute that way for 60 minutes. There will be errors that can become turnovers or leave points off the board.</p><h2>Lessons For Further Study</h2><p>Can the penalties keep creeping down? After 3 penalties for 20 yards against Alabama, the Commodores did make a few more mistakes. Stoops accepted 5 penalties for 57 yards. That is still a far cry from 8 penalties for 93 yards at Missouri. Keep the flags down and the yardage to a minimum.</p><p>Do the demons of Georgia State get exorcised? Simply put, will this team put their dominance on display then coast home against Ball State? I think so. Georgia State has to be a curse word in that locker room. They surely know what went wrong and are preventing it from happening again. </p><p>How full is FirstBank Stadium tomorrow night? I have seen a lot of efforts to get fans to come. Fans buying fans for others, especially thanks to deals being run by Vanderbilt’s ticket office to encourage sales. I would love to see a sellout, obviously, but I do think it will be at least 2/3 full of all Vanderbilt fans hoping to see their team get to 5 wins.</p></div></body>

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Lessons in Vanderbilt Football: Kentucky

Two weeks. Two wins. Two SEC wins. Vanderbilt is now 4-2 with wins over then-#1 Alabama, Virginia Tech, and Kentucky on the road. The losses are at Missouri and at Georgia State. Okay, yeah, this is weird. It is mostly fun but very weird. So let’s jump straight in to the topics.