Vanderbilt Gets Robinette Back For Tigers
And now it gets real interesting on West End as Vandy gets Patton Robinette back for the Missouri Tigers game today. The game is scheduled for a 3:00 Central kick off in Columbia, Missouri.
Vanderbilt looks to win it’s first SEC game of the year. Missouri is a good candidate for this to happen for the Commodores, although it will not be easy. Missouri is coming off of a thrashing of Florida that will surely end the Muschamp era in Gainesville. Missouri did it primarily with special teams and defense as quarterback Maty Mauk and the Tiger offense were horrible against the Gators. The Gator defense still has teeth though, and they played well in the loss.
Vandy is coming off of a much needed bye week. The Dores won at home by one point against Charleston Southern back on October 11th. It was yet another pitiful showing offensively for Vanderbilt, and the defense struggled in the second half to keep Charleston Southern from scoring. A late interception sealed the game for Vandy and the very few fans that were at the homecoming game sighed a bit of relief.
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I think everyone was ready for the bye. Coach Mason, the staff, the players, and the fans all needed a break. The ship is listing badly, and the staff needed a breather for reflection, rest, planning, and then getting back on the field to focus on football. Nothing else. Just football. Prior to the break the Commodores couldn’t tackle, couldn’t block, couldn’t throw, couldn’t catch and couldn’t coach. This team has the talent to do all of this. It just needed the break.
Coach Mason seems to think the ship has been righted. We will see today. The quarterback situation is interesting today. Freshman Johnny McCrary will get the start. However, news came down last night that season opening quarterback and leader Patton Robinette has been cleared medically to play. Robinette is coming off of a concussion suffered against South Carolina. Patton has been plagued by concussion in both high school and college, but he has played well when he is healthy.
Robinette gives Vandy its’ best shot at winning a football game. That being said, McCrary may be the future of this team. He is very mobile and can extend plays with his legs. He is also very young and has a hard time reading defenses at this point in his development. He is a dream for opposing defensive backs, as he will throw the ball to the guys wearing the wrong shirts frequently. But he has the skills, and just needs the experience to develop them properly.
Missouri poses a problem defensively. They have the two best defensive ends in the SEC. Shane Ray may be the best. He comes off of the edge with abandon. His quick first step will give Andrew Jelks fits today, but it will be a great battle between these two. The secondary is solid as well. They are extremely opportunistic.
On offense the Tigers are led by Maty Mauk. He is not having a good season. He is completing right at 50% of his passes and has thrown 9 interceptions to go with his 14 touchdowns. He also likes to run a little and has 148 yards on the ground. As for the running game, it is just fine. Russell Hansbrough has 485 yards on 85 carries and Marcus Murray has 378 on 78 carries. Not exactly Gurley and Chubb, but pretty impressive still. Vandy will have its hands full with this tandem.
Honestly, Vandy will have to run the ball in order to stay in this game. Vanderbilt has no identity at this point. It should be a grind it with our ground game identity and mentality. To date, the offense is like a Derek Mason interview or press conference in that you have no idea what is said or going on. It is all over the place. Just run the ball at Missouri, and sprinkle some short throws off of play action. Vandy has no deep threat, so don’t threaten. Use the tight end in the seam and some shallow crossings by the receivers to give the young quarterback a few easy throws. I know it is tougher than this, but Vandy has to keep it simple, or get blown out.
The special teams today may determine the outcome. Look for the two number 6’s to do great things for their teams. Commodore returner Darrius Sims is dangerous every time he touches the ball. So is Missouri’s Marcus Murray. This should be a fun match up to watch as these two guys may put some excitement into this game.
All in all it will be interesting to see how Vandy is managed in this game. I think this game determines Vandy’s future. If it goes well, Vandy will finish strong this season. Mason will once again be challenged to see if he has the ability to make coaching decisions during the game. Mainly, it is the quarterback situation and his decision on who plays that gets him in trouble. If it is a disaster on the sidelines again from an organization stand point today, the ship will go under and won’t come back up this year.
Prediction – Missouri 20 – Vandy 10