We grade Vanderbilt on all aspects of its 56-31 loss to No. 11 Georgia Tech Saturday night.
Quarterbacks: B
Larry Smith led arguably his best drive of the season on the team's first possession and his 35-yard run from his own 6 helped set up our second touchdown. Mackenzi Adams filled in nicely after Smith left the game going 12-22 and making some big throws, but his lost fumble on Vandy's 22-yard line was a killer.
Running Backs: A
The two-headed freshman running back duo was huge tonight. Warren Norman had a touchdown grab, and Zac Stacy ran for two touchdowns. Stacy also made a huge play on third-and-long in the first half, breaking into the open field on a screen to set up his first touchdown. Norman's lost fumble in Vanderbilt territory was the only major miscue for this group.
Wide Receivers: B
The wideouts collectively had their best game of the season tonight. There were few drops, something that has plagued the team all season, and they made some big plays both running the ball on the reverse and catching. Udom Umoh led the unit with 53 yards while Alex Washington had three catches.
Offensive Line: B
The line opened up some big holes for the running backs, evidenced most by Zac Stacy's 62-yard touchdown scamper. The line also did a nice job in pass protection, allowing no sacks all game, but untimely penalties again plagued this unit as the offense was forced into unmanageable second-and-longs too many times.
Defensive Line: C-
The line had no sacks all game, and when Nesbitt dropped back he was hardly pressured. They also could not stop the running game in the backfield as Jonathan Dwyer and company got into the second line of defense almost every time.
Linebackers: C
While the linebackers contributed to allowing 402 rushing yards, the blame for the porous rush defense can't fall too hard on them. Without Chris Marve making tackles on seemingly every other play, the rushing total and score could have been a lot worse.
Secondary: D-
Georgia Tech threw the ball 14 times, but when they threw it, they burned the Vanderbilt secondary. Myron Lewis lost the ball on Nesbitt's first touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas, while Casey Heyward got burned on Nesbitt's 97 yard TD pass to Embry Peeples. An offense that has only six completions but throws for 193 yards is not going win many football games.
Special Teams: B
Warren Norman was at it again, returning his third kickoff for a touchdown this season, but he also slipped on one return and his fourth-quarter return fumble led to the dagger Tech touchdown. The return coverage was solid, but Brett Upson's 30-yard punt from his own end zone was a momentum killer.
Coaching: C
Vanderbilt's staff had them prepared for the triple option, as Tech didn't use it as much as usual. But the defense still looked lost at times dealing with that offense. Early on, the offensive game plan was very aggressive with lots of fakes and reverses, but the decision to hand the ball off on third-and-5 from the 7 early in the third was way too conservative for that situation.
