2025 Vanderbilt Football Mailbag #9: Answers to Your Questions

Letters… we get letters… we get stacks and stacks of letters…

Question from WestEndMayhem:

1: Favorite Gameday moment (or sign)?

2: What the FLIP was happening with the receiving corps???

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: A friend made a “I’ll be deep

in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah,” sign. It got part of my face in USA Today. So that’s cool.

I wish I knew. There have been some baaaad drops lately, especially from Junior Sherrill. I think they will get out of the slump. Maybe that is just hopeful.

Cole Sullivan: My favorite sign was an MTSU sign reading “Fire Derek Mason.” I hope this bears no explanation.

Andrew VU ‘04: Got to go with this one:

Question from BCFootballEagles:

Does vandy actually have a chance to flip Jared Curtis or was he just visiting to go to a free game in his hometown?

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: Yes. Maybe a little less on the last one. I think he potentially is just enjoying the flirtation that is being recruited as one of the Top 10 players in the country. If Vanderbilt can actually put together a compelling package and keep impressing on the field, that flirtation could turn into an affair and new relationship.

Cole Sullivan: I think it could happen, but he also could have been visiting for a free game and the implied threat to Georgia that he may walk unless they say, stack another hundred grand of NIL money on his offer? I do not know anything about this kid, so I am not going to make assumptions about him or his character or manner. I could reasons for either.

Andrew VU ‘04: See the sign above. When Nate Bargatze openly campaigns for you on Game Day, the Gridiron Dores are the #9 team in the country, and NIL money printer go brrrr, there’s no reason we can’t. Further, it’s not as if QBs have a whole lot of fun handing it off a million times in the Ugga offense, right? You’re telling me you wouldn’t want to come to Nashville, play for Beck/Marry/Kill, in one of the most inventive offenses in the league, and then campaign for stud receivers to come join you? Okay…

Question from ask_thedoctor:

Holy shit was that an ugly game. Hats off to Mizzou for sure, as the refs made if difficult for everyone. We made their backup QB look good. Are we worried that the offense opted out of this game right as we start Pavia Heisman talk? Was it good that we beat a team while being outplayed in every facet of the game? Why hasn’t my heart rate gone down?

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: Vanderbilt’s offensive struggles had nothing to do with Pavia’s Heisman hype. Missouri’s defense is just damned good. It absolutely was good to win an ugly game against a Top 15 opponent. This was not an ugly win over a bad team. It is still a good win on the resume even if it was ugly to watch.

Cole Sullivan: That was maybe the most stressful game, start-to-finish, that I have ever watched. Every single second was so very ugly. I really never felt like we looked that bad, but we could never get it done. A win is a win, but I am a little more worried about the rest of this season than I was before.

Andrew VU ‘04: We weren’t outplayed in every facet of the game, though. Our defense pimp-slapped their offense, repeatedly, and with verve. In every great feetball season, one of the less dominant groups of the three phases of the game will have to prove they can win a close one. On this team, the offense usually carries the water, but if this defense can win one against a top team like Missourah (spits), while the offense is generally struggling (but for that one MK Ultra 80 yard run), that’s actually really good news. This is no longer a Diego Pavia and the Boys squad (Dirty Mike still can’t come). This is now a complete team. Fuck yes.

Question from JerryPalmsSphincter:

OK FOLKS HERE’S A BIG ONE FOR YA, I BET YOU WON’T SEE THIS ONE COMING

Does “feeling kind of annoyed and frustrated after beating a top 20 team” mean that Vandy has arrived?

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: Yes. These types of games are normally against like a horrible Kentucky or Wake Forest or even G5 schools like Hawaii in 2023. The “survival” game being against a Top 15 CFP contender is weird and new. I like it.

Cole Sullivan: You are annoyed and frustrated after beating a top 20 team? Let me tell ya something, JerryPalmsSphincter, the only thing I felt when that clock hit zero was pure relief, and later, after I processed the game, a slight bit of joy. Do not forget your roots. We are still not arrived. We may never be arrived. This could be the only year we get to experience success quite like this. The shroud of the unknown hangs thick over our future from the moment Diego Pavia walks off the field for the last time this season, whenever that may be, onwards.

I doubt we will ever lose to Eastern Tennessee State again, but that will always ALWAYS be the program Clark Lea took over. That will always ALWAYS be the Vanderbilt I know, the Vanderbilt that went 11-35 in my four years on West End. I spent two of those years on the sidelines and in the stands as the school’s literal biggest fan, so I know what it’s like to lose and lose often. A win is a win no matter how it comes.

Now, though, there are sophomores that only know winning football. They may graduate with a winning record. That could be the case for the next 10 classes to follow, and I guess at that point, maybe we will have arrived at an altogether different Vanderbilt, with a different culture and a different collective memory. That point is a long way off, though, so for now I am still happy with whatever I can get.

Andrew VU ‘04: Yes.

Question from VandyImport:

Was this just the refs on LOL FUCK VANDY autopilot? If not how do we clean up the penalties?

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: Some of them like a couple holdings and Kolbey Taylor’s late DPI are on the players. I think they come from the pressure of the moment. These guys have not been here before. The expectation would be they learn from it and get more comfortable in those moments after making mistakes and still succeeding.

Otherwise, the refs just generally sucked.

Cole Sullivan: That was an atrocious officiating job, but ultimately there are still ways we can play cleaner and safer. I don’t know how much we can do about that, though. We may just have to make do.

Andrew VU ‘04: While there certainly were some penalties that we reacted to emotionally on the game thread before seeing the replay (yes, I may be more referring to the royal we here), and NoHo Clark should work to clear them up, this was absolutely a game that should get the referees demoted to Division III games between Case-Western and The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Most weeks, we’ve had to beat our opponents and the refs, but there were at least three horrifically egregious calls in last week’s game that would lead an Auburn fan-base to know how to get the refs fired. One of them came on a replay, for Pinman’s sake. I’m still pissed. You should be, too.

Question(s) from SoCalDore & HoosierDore901:

Which of the remaining Ds we face presents the worst matchups for our team? Texas? Given their QB struggles – and the fact they snuck out an OT win against Clanga – should we now be favored against them?

&

Knowing Texas has struggles with their O line, what does this defense need to do to beat a theoretically better QB in Arch Manning? Edit: Arch might be out now so I guess that answers that question.

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: Texas can imitate a lot of what Missouri did because they have elite talent at similar positions. They have a ton of offensive talent in theory, but I think the OL along with Arch’s slower than expected progression has inhibited them. They could force a similar game that Missouri did.

Keep beibg aggressive up front. Let the DL pin their ears back and attack that struggling OL. Even without blitzing, they can get home if they go for it up front. I think the DL got asked to be more “contain” focused in the second half.

Cole Sullivan: Aside from the fact that Texas is Texas, I don’t really get why they are so favored against us? The team that went to overtime against Kentucky and Mississippi State is going to beat us? Possibly without their starting quarterback? I dunno man, that seems a little farfetched.

Andrew VU ‘04: First of all, phrasing. Other than that, our the strength of our opponents’ defenses goes like this:

The University of Tejas Long Fedoras.
A chasm.
The Auburn University War Tigers.
Yet another chasm.
The Knoxville Buttchuggers
A Luray Cavern.
Kensucky.

As for what our defense needs to do against Arch Manning or whomever the hell his backup is—likely some dude named Caldwell—it’s simple: fuck his shit up. Blitz, stunt, cover, disguise coverages, wear a fake moustache, stack three guys in a large trenchcoat—you know, the normal stuff.

Question from Jeturn:

What is up with backup QBs and our defense (how terrified should we be if we have to face the Texas backup?)?

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: The issue that has bit Vanderbilt in the past and nearly did Saturday was being conservative against backups. It is this idea that you can sit back and be safe without worrying about them hurting you. Except letting them be comfortable and getting into rhythm is when they can beat you as confidence, both of the backup and his teammates, builds.

Cole Sullivan: You spend your entire week preparing to face one player, and halfway through a game, just as you are figuring things out, you have to start from scratch. I get it, it sucks, but I do not think a backup is inherently any more dangerous to our defense than a starter. It’s the difference between reality and expectation that is what’s dangerous. We just need to remain flexible and take change as it comes.

Andrew VU ‘04: If I was an analyst, I might say, “Teams game plan for the starter, but not the backup,” but, come on… in feetball, I am a glowing ball of rage. I only put on my analyst hat for baseball (and even then, I put it on top of my glowing ball of rage). It’s… a curse? Not sure what McGugin or whatever did to that Gypsy woman, but she clearly touched his face and said some nonsense about backup QBs after calling him, “Old man from town.”

Question from KillerFurball:

What is going on with Sherrill? He’s dropped a lot of clutch passes lately.

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: No idea. It is out of character. Finger/hand injury? Popcorn obsession? No idea. Not too worried yet.

Cole Sullivan: Sounds like he needs to “clutch” the ball a little better.

Andrew VU ‘04: Cheryl hasn’t been quite right since she married that brain-worms guy who once cut off the head of a bear and/or whale and left it in Central Park and now determines US health policies.

Question from Ofermod:

When will the Glossary be updated? I think we’ve got a few new terms, and Head Coach Clark Lea is cruelly slandered.

And if we’re going to keep having games like that, does the 2-drink minimum rule need to be revised?

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: The Hired Auburn Man’s security clearance doesn’t extend to the glossary. (It does, but I won’t touch it.)

Who just meets the minimum?

Cole Sullivan: Maybe we can do an offseason mailbag taking suggestions for edits and additions? I made a few changes a year or two ago, but yeah it probably hasn’t been updated since then.

Andrew VU ‘04: It certainly could be updated. Will it? Wait until an offseason and pester Tom and myself then.

Question from VU1970:

Barring an inexplicable loss, I expect Vandy to win out now. Don’t you?

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: If they beat Texas, I would fully expect the Dores to win out. My prediction right now is 3-1 to finish, but I also expect to predict Vanderbilt winning for every game. I just think there will be a weird game at Texas or … somewhere else.

Cole Sullivan: Well, yes, that’s how wins and losses work. And I always expect Vandy to win out. Don’t you?

Andrew VU ‘04: Fuck yes.

Question from Ofermod:

Late-breaking question: How do we feel about coaches now being fired a game after us beating them, rather than the game we beat them?

Answers from AoG:

PatrickSawyer: Just slow acting poison instead of a direct kill. I just hope they all botch the coaching search as badly as LSU appears ready to do.

Cole Sullivan: It’s getting more expensive to fire coaches all the time. Tell the team it is happening the week following a loss to us because it just takes that long to pool the money. That way we can keep a chip on our shoulder over it.

Andrew VU ‘04: I cede my time to the gentleman from Mega-Lo-Mart:

Question from StressFracture:

Does the Het-o-Meter need to be recalibrated? Should it be sent to the Smithsonian for a display so future generations will be able to see the difference between a Mason and a Lea?