We grade the Commodores on all aspects of their 16-13 loss on Saturday to Army.
Quarterback: C
Larry Smith looked much more comfortable in the pocket, only tucking the ball when he absolutely needed to run. Smith also only took one sack, and the two interceptions were on plays where Smith was hit while throwing. He needs to be more accurate, but the final drive in regulation was a promising start.
Running Backs: B-
In a perfect world, this grade would be an A. If either of the two called-back touchdown runs stood, Warren Norman never would have even been in a position to fumble in overtime. Hypotheticals aside, Norman still played well, as did Zac Stacy, despite taking snaps from the stat-killing “Stallion” formation.
Wide Receivers: B-
The receivers got open, and when Smith was able to deliver a catchable ball, it often resulted in a completion. It sounds simple enough, but a few weeks ago, this was easily the offense’s biggest problem. John Cole had a game-high five catches for 56 yards, while Brandon Barden, Udoh Umoh and Alex Washington all contributed. Turner Wimberly's holding penalty was crucial, however, erasing an 81-yard Norman touchdown run.
Offensive Line: D
While Smith was only sacked once, the holes just weren’t there in the running game, and Norman and Stacy had little room to make cuts. The game was riddled with false starts and holding calls.
Defensive Line: C+
In the first half, the defensive line got good penetration, collapsing the box and forcing Army to run the option right into the Vandy linebackers. As the game progressed, though, seams started to open up, and Army’s option ran wild. T.J. Greenstone forced a big fumble in the Vandy red zone that took easy points off the board for Army.
Linebackers: C
This was a tale of two halves for the linebackers. They made good reads — notably Patrick Benoist — and were quick to recognize plays coming out of Army’s triple option early on, but were fooled often in the second half and struggled to get the ball back to the offense.
Secondary: B-
Anytime you hold the other team to 47 yards passing, it’s a pretty solid game. That said, Army only averaged 68 yards through the air coming into the game, and there were a few scares early. With what little passing there was, though, the coverage was strong.
Special Teams: B
It’s hard to argue with a kick return touchdown … except that the following kickoff was almost taken all the way back by Army’s Damion Hunter. Ryan Fowler’s game-tying field goal wasn’t his only heroic play of the day, as he managed to trip Hunter up at the Army 45.
Coaching: D-
It seemed like Rich Ellerson’s staff did a better job of making second half adjustments. A notable moment came when the offense set up at light speed on third and short to catch the defense off guard on a quarterback sneak. The bottom line is Vanderbilt lost to a non-BCS conference opponent for the first time since 2005 in a game it absolutely had to win.
