Letters… we get letters… we get stacks and stacks of letters…
Question from jessecuster44:
Lost a close one last year to TX. Disappointed, but impressed it was close. College Football world – Wow. Vandy is a lot better! Pavia is a warrior!
Lost a close one this year to TX. Devastated at terrible start. Admirable comeback too little too late. College Football world – Vandy is overrated and Pavia sucks! Let’s dunk on them!
We’ve had a really fun season and aren’t done yet. Only two losses are road games vs. All time top 5 programs where we did not play our best. How am I supposed to feel about yesterday and why am I borderline furious?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: You’re borderline furious because, yeah, it felt like they were mailing it in in the first half. Arch Manning had his best game of the season against teams not named Sam Houston (who’s, uh, winless.)
That said, Vanderbilt could probably afford to drop that game. Win out and Vanderbilt should be a playoff team. Yes, that sentence was as weird to write as it was for you to read. Also, winning out is doable. Auburn and Kentucky are trash, and Tennessee hasn’t beaten anybody better than Mississippi State.
PatrickSawyer: I think that’s a vast exaggeration of the reactions. The trolls on Twitter wanted to talk about Vanderbilt as overrated, but the general concensus of the actual “experts” is that Vanderbilt is still a very good team. AP, Coaches, and CFP committee all have Vanderbilt at 15 or 16. The perception of the team seems pretty fair from most people.
I am very frustrated because it felt like the game plan was cowardly. They played safe, deep zone coverage. That let Texas get blockers out and ball carriers a head of steam on the repeated screens. By my count, Manning only completed 2 or 3 passes beyond the line of scrimmage in the first half. It was fine to want to keep Texas in front of them and avoid getting beat by deep shots, but the coaches needed to adjust after the first drive or two to really attack the screens. Even when they got more aggressive later, Texas only completed one real deep shot. The secondary did fine in coverage. Tackling…well that was also infuriating from everyone.
Cole Sullivan: I didn’t get to watch most of the game, but I usually don’t get that angry. We are a good team with a record that accurately reflects our performance so far this season. I remain excited to be in the conversation and have started talking to friends about what we would do depending on where we could potentially end up playing. This season has been so fun, and the media and the trolls can’t take that away from me.
Andrew VU ‘04: You’re supposed to feel furious about the start of the game, as we dug a hole we couldn’t climb out of (even though we kicked their asses in the second half). Bah.
Question from WestEndMayhem:
1: How do you come out so flat, and in such an uninspired way regarding fundamentals? Like open field tackling and the defense giving an obscene amount of cushion against an SEC team- how does that happen????
2: LOL VAWLS LOST AT HOME, DID YOU KNOW THAT?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: You can give an obscene amount of cushion, but you’d better make the tackle if you’re only sort of contesting the ball. And yes, I did know that the Vols lost at home. I also know that the Vols have three losses, and has beaten one team with a winning record: Mississippi State, who only has a winning record because they beat 2-7 Arkansas last weekend. By a field goal.
PatrickSawyer: Cushion was intentional. That was the plan, obviously. As stated above, that would have been fine if the entire Texas plan was not “screen them to death,” which meant DBs went from safely covering WRs to watching them get to full speed before trying to tackle them in the open field. I have no idea where the strong tackling team we are used to seeing in black and gold went.
Yes, but being reminded is so much fun.
Cole Sullivan: I listened to the radio call for the first half, and it felt like our guys were unfocused? But I don’t think the near-comeback reflects that. Sometimes things don’t go your way, and it sounds like Texas changed things up in a big way to get around our combatting their strengths. Smart plan from the Longhorns.
Andrew VU ‘04: I’ll go against my colleagues and say I am in favor of more cushion for the pushin’. Wait… we’re talking about football? Oh hell, no. Press those fuckers and for the love of Pinman, make your damned tackles.
Question from jeturn:
Given the offensive offenses performance last night by both Kentucky and Auburn are their significant concerns about how Vandy matches up with them? Are their defenses that good or their offenses that bad? And given the UTe performance from last night how do you feel about the matchup against them?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: Kentucky’s defense is legit — see, e.g., holding Texas to 13 points in regulation, a task that eluded Vanderbilt’s defense in the first quarter. So is Auburn’s for that matter. Both offenses are dumpster fires. Hugh Freeze saw Jackson Arnold get benched at Oklahoma and thought, yeah, that guy is the program savior. Hugh Freeze notably is no longer Auburn’s head coach.
Anyway, I feel good about scoring 10 points against either team, which is probably all it will take to beat either one of them.
PatrickSawyer: Kentucky has only scored more than 14 points against 2 SEC teams. Ole Miss and Tennessee. Both of them have had some really awful defensive performances. I am not impressed or concerned with Kentucky’s offense at all.
Auburn has had a very good defense. They are one of 3 teams (Ohio State and Indiana are the other 2) to not allow more than 24 points in a game this season. Being 4-5 is a testament to how bad their offense has been. It will be interesting to see how things change with Freeze gone. It would not surprise me if they do not improve significantly by simplifying things. Remember, they were using a different playcaller for each of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd down.
I am still comfortably predicting wins in those two, though I think Auburn could be a low-scoring game. I think the offense has a point to prove after the lesser outputs against LSU and Missouri then starting slow against Texas.
I feel fine about the game in Knoxville. Fully convinced that, barring injuries, Pavia and company will be fired up and come out firing on both offense and defense against THEM.
Cole Sullivan: I am not concerned about Auburn. The homecoming crowd (which will include me) will potentially be the most raucous crowd in the past century of Vanderbilt Football. Also, they have a new coach, which I guess could mean we have to throw out the tape this week, but I actually think it will mean the team is not quite comfortable with themselves.
Now Kentucky? First off I hate those guys. Second off, they hate us (even if they won’t admit it). I am scared of dirty play that goes unchecked and an all-around brawl. Gah I wish we were gonna get to play them every year.
Andrew VU ‘04: I have nothing to add. Both have great defenses and horrendous offenses. We should have enough on both sides to take down both.
Question from Kslaught:
Can our line play, both offense and defense get it together to win at least 2 of these last 3 games? The Texas game definitely gives me doubts.
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: Uh, yeah? Two of those games are against Auburn and Kentucky.
PatrickSawyer: Texas only averaged 3.7 yards per carry. The DL was not an issue. They were taken out of the game by Texas going so screen heavy. Even passes over the LOS were getting out of Manning’s hand as soon as he hit the back of his drop.
The OL was facing one of the best front 7s in college football. They struggled for the second straight week. I need to look into how good Auburn’s front specifically is. It is a good defense, but I do not think it is quite in the same tier as Missouri and Texas. Still, there are some things the offense needs to get back to doing, like jet sweeps and rolling out, that can make life tougher on a defensive front. We did some of the rollout action against Texas to good success.
Cole Sullivan: I am not an X’s and O’s guy, but I am an ideas guy. First idea? Change the logo back. Second idea, play worse teams. What’s that? We’re playing Auburn this weekend? Awesome, I’m so glad Clark Lea is taking my advice.
Andrew VU ‘04: As long as we don’t forget to tackle for a quarter for no apparent reason, we should be in the driver’s seat for at least 2 of the last three games. If we execute to the best of our ability, all three.
Question from ofermod:
One of you clearly got your act together in the 4th quarter… so what is your biggest/favorite Gameday Superstition, for good luck or for ill?
And does anyone on the planet whine more about the refs than the poor, put-upon Texas fans?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: (sets Spotify to play “Manchild” on loop, goes for a run)
PatrickSawyer: Some of it is being stitious, and some of it is that I am just a creature of habit. I have had the same drink of choice for every home game along with South Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Alabama. The stitious bit is that I have worn the exact same outfit for every single game this year. It all gets washed together on Sunday (except this week because of travel back from Texas), and I don’t wear any of it until the next game day.
Cole Sullivan: My teams generally do better the less I keep up with the games. I listened to the radio call the entire first half, and then didn’t keep up with the game at all the second half (I was working this weekend), just to give one example. In college I famously wasn’t allowed to watch the men’s basketball team my sophomore year after a trend emerged where we would go on dry spells the moment I sat down that would only let up when I’d run to the bathroom or something. I often close my eyes before big field goal or free throw attempts in an effort to replicate as best I can. I am convinced that sometimes it does actually make the difference.
I also have a friend who loved to bet on teams to cover against us in men’s basketball, but I think he went on a run of like 10 games where he would bet on a team to cover a close spread because “If Vandy is going to lose anyways I want to at least make money off it” then Vandy would lose but cover, so he would be doubly unhappy. We name a cruse after him. He is no longer allowed to bet on men’s basketball, and since then we’ve been doing much better.
Andrew VU ‘04: Listen, the real problem was Tom forgot to post the predictions post and game thread last week, and left the baseball guy to do it. That clown spent like 90% of his effort on a Fedora reference that most of you don’t even remember. M’Ladies.
Question from JmlongVU98:
I feel like after the Tejas fans started chanting “overrated” to the team, but especially Pavia, we turned the beat around and dropped 21 unanswered points. How can we make sure to get the chip on the shoulder pissed off at kick off and not the 4th quarter?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: Look over at the opposite sideline, see D.J. Durkin, and remember that he killed a player. Which somehow is worse than anything Hugh Freeze has ever done.
PatrickSawyer: Selling it as them getting “pissed off” is probably not accurate. I doubt the motivation suddenly changed. It is really insulting to say that the team would have such a weak competitive drive that it took until that point in the game to get fired up about how it was going. A few things all happened concurrently or nearly so.
First, Texas got conservative with the lead safe and game seemingly out of reach. Conversely, Vanderbilt went full “it cannot get worse” mode and starting slinging the ball all over the place on offense while being very aggressive on defense, which was certainly aided by Texas being even more predictable than they were already. That predictability also played into what Vanderbilt’s defense does really well: stop the run.
Cole Sullivan: Clark Lea should convince Diego that Freeze still coaches at Auburn. I guarantee you that he will go out and get the job done. After that, you just need to remind them that the playoffs wait for no team, you’ve got to go out and earn it those last two games.
Andrew VU ‘04: Something something poisoned trees something something PAAAAAAWWWWLLLLL!!!
Question from VandyMike:
Auburn is not allowed to fire a coach until after we play them. Did the cancel the Freeze in fear of Vandy? Will Stoops survive Vandy? Will Huepel leave before or after we beat Them. Will the Cocks can Beamer this year?
Imagine Vanderbilt, wiping out other teams’ coaches instead of our own for once.
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: No, they cancelled the Freeze because he was overseeing a complete garbage fire that was a garbage fire before he lost to Vandy again. After all, Kentucky has officially taken our place as “SEC team you should be embarrassed to lose to.” Speaking of Kentucky, Stoops has a huge buyout that notably is payable in full 60 days from whenever he’s canned, and no, I don’t think Kentucky is going to pay that money to a football coach. (Basketball, sure.) And Heupel… yeah, they’re probably starting to see that he’s not going to lead them to the promised land, but no, they’re not going to fire him this year. Beamer… well, he can just take the Virginia Tech job I guess.
PatrickSawyer: I hate it. I wanted Pavia to get to 4-0 against the televangelist. I doubt Stoops gets fired just because Kentucky has pretty clearly said they do not care about football with how revenue sharing is set. They will not want to pay his buyout. Heupel is safe no matter what the biggest crazies in that insane fan base say.
South Carolina probably has to lose out for Beamer to be fired. They were preseason #13, so maybe going 6-6 (winning out) would still get him canned. I can’t say that I am too in tune with how South Carolina fans and boosters feel about him.
)Cole Sullivan: I think Beamer is fine, but if things are too rocky then he’ll walk. South Carolina would probably prefer he do that, actually. Now Stoops? I don’t care, and neither does Kentucky. As for Heupel, someone check and see if the 49ers need a new coach. No? Then I think we’re probably stuck with that guy here in the SEC. (Want to take a second to say I love how Clark Lea dresses on the sideline. A polo is so classy, so Vandy.)
Andrew VU ‘04: I’m with Patrick here. All hail the Mandator.
Question(s) from ConquerAndPrevail & 79Commode Dore:
QFTMB: Are we needing to hang extra touchdowns on Auburn to keep the CFP hope alive?
&
Re CFP: Seems to me we need to assume aTm, Ugga, Bama, and Ole Miss are uncatchable by us based on schedule. (Possible but highly unlikely Ugga loses to both Texas and Ga. tech). Texas, OK, and maybe Mizzou are our potential threats to get a 5th SEC spot if there is one so we need those teams to lose. Yes/No?
Of course, this assumes we win out and there is more carnage in other conferences…
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: Well, we should hang more touchdowns on Auburn just because. As for the second question… I mean, yeah? The fewer two-loss SEC teams, the better. This presumes we win our remaining games.
PatrickSawyer: Style points could definitely come into play. Burying Auburn and Kentucky would be a good start.
I agree on Texas A&M, Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss. Although Georgia could drop games against Texas and Georgia Tech if you want to indulge some level of “unlikely but potentially believable.”
Yes, Texas needs to lose to at least one of Georgia or Texas A&M. It may need to be both unless it is a close win and a decisive loss. Oklahoma needs to lose to Alabama and maybe Missouri (or at least not look good in that game). Missouri does not concern me since they are already 6 spots behind us. It would probably require a very decisive win over Texas A&M then winning out comfortably over Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
Cole Sullivan: I mean, we’re no. 16 in the country with quality wins and, more importantly, quality losses. If we win out, I feel like we’ll move ahead of a few teams, even if everyone ahead of us wins out, too. THEM awaits at the end of the season, which gives us an opportunity to end the season with a bit of a bang. I feel good right now.
Andrew VU ‘04: I’m not even keeping the CFP alive as a possibility. Nor should NoHo Clark, nor should Dirty Pavia and the Boys. The only thing we can do is focus on the opponent in front of us. Cliches and cliches for a reason, and we’re a very good football team, but not the ‘85 Bears. We will have to devise opponent-specific game plans, be completely on the same page, and execute perfectly every week moving forward. Okay, we can fuck up a little against Kentucky.
Question from VandyImport:
If inshallah we were somehow able to win out, what would we rather do at 10-2: playoff game at Oregon or New Years Day at the Citrus Bowl?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: Playoff game and I won’t take any more questions.
PatrickSawyer: Playoffs. I don’t care what follows that. You take the seat at the table. You take a shot at it. Also, a game at Autzen should be a bucket list item for any CFB fan. I also would really enjoy if we could beat Oregon at their place since a POS VP of Operations that I used to work with is a huge Oregon fan.
Cole Sullivan: Autzen is AWESOME. Sadly it’s probably the one team in the top 25 where I’d skip the game. Having already been there, and it being not exactly easy to get to, man I hope we get to play someone else.
Andrew VU ‘04: Playoffs, my dude. There’s a reason Jim Mora got all worked up about them.
Question from Hoosierdore612:
Mascot nostalgia is in — Indiana brought back Hoosier the bison. Clearly has worked for them and we have gone on a “rebrand” tour the last few years…so my first thought, if football traditions are invoking spirits from the past to bring good juju, can we get the legendary George back before he starts demanding NIL deals?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: This “legendary George” must pre-date my fandom. I have no idea what this is about.
Cole Sullivan: Closest thing I know to a “Legendary George” is Allan George. Dude is a legend to me, but I don’t think that’s who you’re talking about.
Andrew VU ‘04: Screw that. Time to make our mascots the “two ugly ones” from that strip club we all visited when undergrads.
