Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
By Hunt Palmer
Clark Lea and Diego Pavia have led a renaissance of Vanderbilt football over the last two years.
The Commodores are 12-7 over the last year and a half. They were 12-45 the previous five seasons. You’re not going to see a host of Commodores on many mock drafts. But they have an identity and a personality. It works.
Now, it does need to be said that the schedule has been light. Virginia Tech was the power four non-conference game, and the Hokies fired Brent Pry for getting blown out by Old Dominion. They’re 2-5. They played South Carolina for more than a half without LaNorris Sellers. The other wins are Charleston Southern, Georgia State and Utah State. Alabama beat Vanderbilt by 16 (with a very late touchdown).
Still, Vanderbilt boasting a bunch of top-25 statistics in mid-October is worth celebrating in Nashville. Las Vegas favored the homestanding Commodores by a point on Sunday. Let’s see why.
A reminder that the smaller the ranking, the better the statistic.
Green: Top 25
Red: Bottom 50
OFFENSE
Scoring Offense: 7th, 43,2 points per game
Total Offense: 19th, 467 yards per game
Yards per play: 5th, 7.6 yards per play
Plays: 118th, 61.5 plays per game
Rushing Offense: 23rd, 210 yards per game
Yards per carry: 1st, 6.5 yards per carry
Rushing Attempts per game: 111th, 31.8 attempts per game
Rushing Touchdowns: 7th, 19
Passing Offense: 47th, 258.8 yards per game
Completion Percentage: 18th, 69.1%
Passing Touchdowns: 13th, 15
Interceptions Throw: 26th, 3
Third Down Conversions: 2nd, 58%
Fourth Down Conversion attempts: 122th, 6
Red Zone Touchdown Percentage: 6th, 81,3%
20-plus yard plays: 36th, 32
10-plus yard runs: 46th, 33
20-plus yard passes: 52nd, 21
First Downs: 15th, 24.5 per game
Sacks Allowed: 8th, .67 per game
Tackles For Loss Allowed: 5th, 3 per game
Time of Possession: 46th, 30:57:83 per game
This is a remarkably impressive body of work on paper. Vanderbilt leads the country in yards per carry, while ranking 46th in runs over 10 yards. The Commodores are just constantly moving forward on the ground. The sack and tackle for loss numbers also illustrate that. So does the fact that they’re third in the country on third downs.
Pavia and co. are always ahead of the chains and under control. They also play very, very slowly. Few teams in the country run less plays.
The passing game isn’t prolific, but it’s efficient. They’re top-25 in yards per attempt, completion percentage and touchdown passes despite 73 teams throwing it more often.
When they get into the red zone, they get touchdowns.
It would be tough for Clark Lea and his staff to cultivate a more impressive batch of statistics considering their talent level. Vanderbilt has an identity, and they stick to it.
DEFENSE
Scoring Defense: 36th, 19.3 points per game
Total Defense: 32nd, 313.3 yards per game
Yards per Play Allowed: 42nd, 5.1 yards per play
Run Defense: 16th, 90.8 yards per game
Yards per Carry Allowed: 22nd, 3.2 yards per carry
Rushing Touchdowns Allowed: 10th, 3
Passing Defense: 69th, 222.5 yards per game
Completion Percentage Allowed: 116th, 67%
Yards per Passing Attempt Allowed: 49th, 6.7 yards per attempt
Interceptions: 61st, 4
Passing Touchdowns Allowed: 102nd, 11
Sacks: 14th, 3 per game
Tackles for Loss: 12th, 7.5 per game
Third Down Defense: 62nd, 36.9%
Red Zone Touchdown Percentage Allowed: 80th, 63%
20-plus yard plays: 40th, 21
10-plus yard runs: 32nd, 21
20-plus yard passes: 40th, 15
This defense is pretty simple by the numbers. The Commodores are winning at the line of scrimmage with great run defense, tackles for loss and sacks. They’re gettable in the secondary where they’re allowed a ton of completions and touchdowns. They have not been susceptible to big plays.
Lea is a very good defensive coach. He’s got a history with Brian Kelly on that side of the ball. His team will play disciplined football. As we start to preview this game Saturday, it feels like Vanderbilt holds the edge up front where LSU’s offensive line has had its issues. Once the ball starts to go down the field, LSU should have the edge, especially if Aaron Anderson can play.
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