The third win in a row was not as inspiring or impressive. Vanderbilt went into the game as 26.5-point favorites of a Ball State team that has struggled mightily this season. The Commodores walked away with a 10-point victory but had done something they did not do against Alabama or Kentucky – trail.
Still, outside of their first 2 opportunities of each half, Ball State did very little on offense. Vanderbilt moved the ball well but failed to convert a pair of drives inside the 10 into TDs. It is nice to be frustrated about a double digit win that was the 5th victory on the season in only the 7th game.
Lessons We Know Well
The 2024 Commodores love to play to the level of their opponents. This game was only the second on the season where the final margin was greater than 7 points. The other was Alcorn State. When you have beaten Alabama by 5 and lost to Georgia State by 4, there is a problem with attacking every game the same. The good news is the next opponent is #5 Texas, so the level should be up. However, the two best chances to get over the threshold to 6 wins, Auburn and South Carolina, can be viewed as lesser opponents, but both have some interesting ability to punch up a bit. The biggest factor was one that I hoped was dead after Georgia State. Tim Beck again limited Paviain the option game in the first half half before unleashing him in the second. If Pavia is hurt, get him out and let Nate Johnson run the offense. The neutering of the option game is almost certainly a bigger negative than the downgrade at QB.
Tim Beck really knows how to push the right buttons though. Yes, he did take Pavia out of the run game for most of the first half. He, Kill, and Lea, in some combination, wanted to protect the wrestler QB. They should have learned from the Sex Panther debacle. Still, the first halves against Georgia State and Ball State along with the fade to Sherrill in OT at Missouri are the only criticisms I can level against Beck. He constantly adds new wrinkles to an offense that is fairly simple in terms of what they are going to do. He loves finding new “how”s for his little Triple Option and Air Raid hybrid offense. Against Ball State, the change appeared to be how much shotgun was used as opposed to Pistol. It will be interesting to see what Beck has cooked up for the Longhorns.
Diego Pavia is an absolute dog though. The kid does not know how to play any way except full speed ahead. The only thing slowing him down is playcalling that takes the ball out of his hands. This was his 3rd worst game of the year according to QBR. He earned a 61.9 which was only ahead of Alcorn State (52.6) and Georgia State (46.5). The good news is he has not had a Total QBR worse than 85.4 (Missouri) in SEC play. The team around him is growing up a lot, so if he can keep that level of play up, the Dores will be enjoyable to watch down the stretch.
The man making Pavia’s life so much easier is Eli Stowers. Smooth number 9 went over 100 yards receiving for the third time this season by posting a season-high 130 yards receiving. He also crossed the century mark against Alabama and Georgia State. Stowers has 463 of the 1,391 yards Pavia has thrown for on the season. He also has the only other 17 yards passing recorded by a Commodore. Right in line with his yardage share, Stowers has caught 33 of the 102 completed passes by Pavia. The hyper athletic QB-turned-TE has also carried the ball 3 times for 12 yards. His blocking is still a work in progress, but there have not been any plays I recall from my re-watches where Stowers was notably the blocker who missed his assignment.
Vanderbilt’s defensive line was again unassuming but so effective. They combined for only 6 solo tackles (8 total) but did have a sack, a TFL and a PBU. Any day where your defense allows only 3.5 yards per carry and 190 yards passing, the defensive line was getting something done. Semonza was 21/29, but that explains how they were unable to generate pressure while allowing so little yardage. He was throwing fast to combat the havoc they can cause. The DL was up to the challenge against Alabama. Can they move Texas’s OL around some today?
Bryan Longwell was praised solo last week, but that was an injustice. With Langston Patterson out for a second straight game, Nicholas Rinaldi stepped up big time. He had 5 solo (7 total) tackles and the massive sack to kill Ball State’s drive at the end of the first half. Bryce Cowan got in on 4 stops, 2 of them all alone, with credit for half of a TFL. Longwell had the same stat line but got a whole TFL. These guys all stepping up will help when Patterson comes back. The coaches can help limit Patterson’s load to protect the injury and keep him fresher, as long as the other LBs can keep the level of play high. They have while he was out, but none of them have his football IQ and reactions to ruin plays. He needs to have a big game against Texas, and all of the LBers need to keep runs in front of them and snuff out any tricky underneath throws.
Special Teams are strength for this team. The only aspect that gives fans any pause is the kickoff coverage, but it has flashed a few times, too, by taking down returners short of the fair catch distance of the 25. They have allowed a few returns out to the 35 or 40, but I think everything that went beyond that was called back for a penalty. Jesse Mirco had punts of 39, 45, and 53. The results were, in order, a 1-yard return, a touchback, and downed at the Ball State 6. Brock Taylor has been dialed in since Missouri, too. The rocket-legged sophomore made kicks of 27, 24, and 38. They were all attempted with Vanderbilt trailing or tied, so there was plenty of pressure on him to execute. Taylor is 7/7 since missing in OT at Missouri and 14/17 on the season with a mess each from 30-39, 40-49, and 50+. He has made 4 kicks of 50+, too, so the range gives the Dores a chance to score any time they get across the opponent’s 40. The special teamers doing their jobs well is just one of those little details that adds up over time by turned stalled drives into points or bad field position for the other team.
Lessons We Are Learning
I am still feeling the offensive line out. They were good against Virginia Tech, Alcorn State, and Missouri. They stumbled a bit against Georgia State and Missouri then impressively stood their own against very good Alabama and Kentucky fronts. The Ball State showing was not as impressive as one would like. I think what we are learning is that the OL is serviceable, but they need the full threat of the offense to get defenders off balance or flat footed and ripe for the moving. When the offense has simplified and removed the QB run, suddenly the OL looks okay instead of good. The little that I have seen from Texas included high variance in pass rushers and blitzes. The OL will need to be at their best again, regardless of scheme behind them, to let the offense operate. They are my biggest concern going into the game.
The defense has another chance to show off their ability to avoid the kill shots and eventually stop drives. Texas dropped 50+ on their 3 G5 opponents, 31 on Michigan, 35 on Mississippi State, and 34 on Oklahoma’s stout defense before Georgia held them to only 15. Quinn Ewers was good but not great against Oklahoma coming off his injury then downright bad against Georgia. His Total QBR, which adjusts for opponent’s defensive streak theoretically, was a horrible 23.9. With Isaiah Bond questionable, I would really like to see DC Clark Lea try to speed Ewers up. Making him uncomfortable and think about looking over his shoulder at Arch Manning who replaced him for a short time against Georgia. They forced the batted ball pick 6 against Bama then got some sacks in critical moments that made conversion attempts longer range and easier to defend. Ewers has been picked off in 4 of his 5 games, including UTSA and CSU.
After 8 penalties for 93 yards against Missouri, Vanderbilt has committed 3 for 20 (Alabama), 5 for 57 (Kentucky), and 2 for 10 (Ball State). Emotions got to them a few times against Kentucky in a highly charged matchup. They need to continue to keep the penalties down. Do not make converting harder on offense or give your defense less space to defend. There is data out there to suggest that there is no statistical correlation between teams that average more penalties than those that average fewer, but individual games are undoubtedly influenced by penalties. Keep it clean and make Texas earn everything. Texas is average 49 yards in penalties against per game.
Lessons for Further Study
Is there more magic in The Bank? Wins against much better teams require special things. Whether it is a crowd moment where an offense gets confused or a player making an inspired play, big games at home just have a special feel. The Vanderbilt homefield advantage is obviously not as impressive as any other SEC school, but you can be sure the team still feels the emotional shifts in the stands when the away fans get silent while the rowdy home contingent lets their voices be heard.
How many people are shocked when there is not netting surrounding part of the playing surface after this hilarious troll?
BREAKING – Vanderbilt has installed temporary netting at FirstBank Stadium ahead of the matchup with Texas.
AD Candice Storey Lee said putting the net in front of the visiting section was precautionary.
Lee also noted the netting may stay for the Tennessee game later this year. pic.twitter.com/479oMW3kEp
— Trés Lawless • Vandy Uni Tracker (@jerrylawless3) October 23, 2024
I have seen CBS Sports Network and 247 both get fooled. I would guess it is at least a third of the Texas contingent.
How many times can a grown man drop a #HornsDown before it gets cringey? I will not be targeting any small children, but any loudmouth Texans are going to get the all-time record quoted then have some sign language their puppets in the Big XII used to penalize. Welcome to the SEC, cowboys.
All joking aside, can this team go toe to toe with an elite team who should not be overlooking them? Alabama probably had a few reasons to think Vanderbilt was beneath them after the Georgia State loss by Vanderbilt and win over Georgia (yeah, just Georgia, not Tech or State or Southern) in the lead up. Even the Commodores going to 2OT with Missouri appeared not to be enough of an attention grabber for the Crimson Tide. Texas will surely not have any focus elsewhere after the loss to Georgia a week ago and their bye week upcoming. The Commodores will have to take Texas’s best punch. Can they do some ducking and dodging long enough to land some blows? Or will they punch the Longhorns right in the mouth and grab them by the horns?