Why Tennessee Wins At Vanderbilt
Tennessee will go to the State Capital of Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores this Saturday. Kick off is set for 3:00 Central.
The Vols will be looking to gain bowl eligibility status and to reclaim its’ dominance in the Tennessee-Vanderbilt rivalry. The Commodores have won the last two games. It is a severe understatement to say this does not sit well with Vol fans. T
The Dore’s escaped with a close fought win in Knoxville last season when Patton Robinette led Vanderbilt on a last possession touchdown drive to win their second in a row over the Vols. Tennessee Coach Butch Jones, the Tennessee team, and the Tennessee fans have waited a year for this. It is a must win. Here is why Tennessee will win Saturday.
The main reason Tennessee will win is simple. Tennessee is a better team. The Vols have better skill position players, and they have a better head coach, and coaching staff. What they don’t have is a dominant offensive line that can push Vandy around. That is the only matchup that is bad for the Vols, but it is a major problem.
The Vols are 5-6. The Commodores are 3-8. There is not much difference in the records, but a world of difference in how these teams have performed. Vanderbilt has been a disaster from the rain soaked start with a home opener loss to Temple to the 51-0 beat down by Mississippi State last weekend. They have struggled in all facets of the game. The Vols however have played well all season. They have played everyone on the schedule tough, including Alabama.
Vandy has played duck, duck, goose with it’s quarterbacks all season. Patton Robinette is clearly the best option. The only person in Nashville that can not see that is Coach Derek Mason. In his defense, Robinette is kind of a Jake Locker, Jr in that he can’t stay healthy. Robinette unfortunately has concussion issues and this sidelines him frequently.
The Dores will go with Freshman Johnny McCrary. McCrary is a good looking prospect. He has a good arm and good wheels as well. He also is good at throwing ill advised interceptions. At one point in the season he had three interceptions in three consecutive throws. He had two last week. The Vols secondary should be excited to get off of the bus in Nashville, and immediately should get their head around to find an errant McCrary pass sailing along West End.
Vandy has a good running game. As a matter of fact, this has been a huge disappointment all season. Vandy has an experienced offensive line and good, tough, hard running backs in Ralph Webb and Dallas Rivers. The problem is that most teams load the box and dare Vandy to throw. It is hard to run with 9 in the box, and that is what these guys face each week.
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The Commodores receivers scare no one. They have no deep threat at all. They are extremely young, and quite frankly not up to SEC standards. There is no Jordan Matthews to bail them out of trouble. The closest thing to a decent receiver is tight end Steven Scheu. He could be a problem without AJ Johnson in the middle.
The Vols defense should not give up many points to Vandy. Vanderbilt may move the ball early with the run game, but I think Tennessee’s Derek Barnett and Corey Vereen will wear on the Defensive Tackles. The Speed of the Tennessee linebackers will be too much. The Corners should contest every throw, and that will free the Safeties to play down hill on Vandy running backs.
Offensively, it will be up to Tennessee as to how they play. Tennessee will be the one that stops Tennessee, not Vanderbilt. If Tennessee’s game plan is similar to that of the Missouri game, it could be a long game. Tennessee will not be able to just line up and run over Vanderbilt. With that said, they must run the ball at Vandy and not horizontally. Vandebilt’s 3-4 linebackers are quick, and they tackle well. We will need to establish Hurd and Dobbs between the tackles early.
When Tennessee establishes the run game, the passing game should be tough to stop. Vanderbilt has no answer for Von Pearson or Pig Howard. Unfortunately Tennessee will not have Marquez North this week as he is undergoing surgery, but Josh Malone and Jason Croom will do just fine. I pray that Josh has a significant role in this game in front of his hometown fans. He needs some confidence after the drop at Missouri that cost the Vols late in the game. The short passing game will work extremely well as Vandy’s cover corners will have to give the speedy Vols plenty of cushion.
As far as special teams go, Vandy may be a little better in the return game with Sims being one of the best in the SEC. However, Evan Berry has provided the Vols with a huge spark on the Kick off return team. He averaged 30 yards per return with a long of 58 against Missouri last week. Tennessee is better in the kicking game and punting game as well.
Tennessee should win this game Saturday. The Vols not only have more to play for with a Bowl Berth on the line, but the pride of the mid state freshman on this team will be on the line as well. I think that will be enough. These freshman are a special group. They do not quit. They do not give up, and they will not lose to Vanderbilt. Not while they are there.