Letters… we get letters… we get stacks and stacks of letters…
Question from HoosierDore901:
Is the up-tempo offensive revelation we saw yesterday something we should expect as a tool against Kentucky & THEM or was this a one time deal
because of what we saw in Auburn’s defense? My fear being up tempo exposes our defense even more and would wear them out in the long run of the rest of the season.
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: I think it was a reaction to falling behind and Auburn suddenly having a functional offense that was scoring points — I mean, when you get into a game where scoring 24 isn’t gonna cut it, you have to adjust. But perhaps the fact that it worked means that they will, in fact, keep it up?
PatrickSawyer: It will be used sporadically. I would not expect it to be every drive, but it will show up when the coaches want to catch a defense napping or if they do find themselves in a hole. The exact usage number probably relies heavily on game situations.
Cole Sullivan: Should we expect ourselves to use a ‘tool’ we have at our disposal? Yes, in the case we need it. I think we can grind it out against the the Cats, but it’s good to know we can score in a hurry if we get down.
Andrew VU ‘04: Prior to them hanging 38 on the Jorts two weeks back, I would have said I’m not sure we’ll see it against Kentucky, as we just might not need it against their inept offense. But what the hell have they done to turn on the gas of late? Beyond that, The Buttchuggers are all offense, so that’ll be a race to 50 to win. So yeah, in short, I think we will go up-tempo. Further, I think we should.
Question from jeturn:
What are your Thoughts on foregoing the field goal in the 4th quarter and instead attempting the fourth down conversion?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: I was fine with it.
For one thing, it’s a 4th and 1. I guess the logic was that you’d rather convert it and try to either get a touchdown or bleed more time off the clock before kicking the winning field goal, but the downside risk wasn’t substantial. With about a minute left and Auburn needing to go 40 yards just to get in field goal range, with no timeouts… at that point you’d be more concerned about giving up a big play and a touchdown (in which case you lose the game regardless of whether you kicked a field goal or failed to convert a fourth down) rather than Auburn getting on the fringes of field goal range and trying to pull off a fire drill field goal to win it. It’s the kind of decision that’s easy to second guess if that does happen and you end up losing, but playing the percentages I think you’re fine with the decision (and it did in fact work out.)
PatrickSawyer: Totally fine going for it. The aggressiveness of the decision fits within the change in attitude of the team. They are aggressive, and they are going to take every inch they can get. The play call left something to be desired.
Cole Sullivan: I liked it, although the play could have been better: it could have worked. Really, I just hope things like that, and all the criticism that comes with it, doesn’t keep us from going for it the next time.
Andrew VU ‘04: Had we not won the game, I would have been apoplectic. It was such a dumb move, and we’ve largely been immune from dumb-shittery since Beck/Marry/Kill joined NoHo Clark.
Question(s) from KnockinOnHeavensDore & ask_thedoctor:
Notre Dame seems to be in playoff consideration because both of their losses are “quality losses.” By that logic, at what point do we consider 2-7 Arkansas for playoff contention, as they have more quality losses than any of the current contenders?
Ok, my real question is this: Will/should a 10-2 us get in over a 10-2 Notre Dame, and why is it that Notre Dame seems to get away with scheduling 2 real games a year and losing both of them while other G5 teams/independents can be undefeated and not crack the top 25?
&
Building off of this, I’m flummoxed that Oklahoma is ranked above us in last week’s CFP Rankings. We have two road losses at Texas by three and at Bama by 14, and they got drubbed by Texas at home. They also lost to then-#8 Ole Miss at home. Am I missing something as to why they currently have the nod over us?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: Sorry, but of the two-loss teams ahead of us… Notre Dame probably offends me the least? Their two losses were (a) the first two games of the season and (b) both to playoff contenders and (c) by a combined four points. And they’ve beaten USC and Pitt, so I’d hardly characterize them as “scheduling 2 real games a year.” This is actually the perfect counterpoint to the stupid Texas “what if we hadn’t scheduled Ohio State?” nonsense, because the real problem with Texas’s resume isn’t that they lost to Ohio State; it’s that they lost to Florida. Or how Alabama lost to Florida State?
PatrickSawyer: I can tolerate where Notre Dame is. They at least have wins over #15 USC and now-unranked (because of losing to ND) Pittsburgh. I do think they should join a conference. I do not see any way we get in over 10-2 Notre Dame. They do have a pretty comparable resume to ours, except Vanderbilt’s best win is #22 Missouri.
Oklahoma beat Alabama. We did not. The Sooners have wins over teams that are currently ranked #10, #18, and #22. They have the better resume, even though I think we are the better team. Prove it the last 2 weeks.
Cole Sullivan: Notre Dame played in the national championship game last year. That should count for way less than it does, but oh well. As for Oklahoma, recency bias. Teams change over the course of the season (except for, coincidentally, Notre Dame, which has been exactly the same team it is now for at least a decade). I get why we are below Oklahoma (especially considering their pedigree).
Andrew VU ‘04: Notre Dame is a blue blood and the powers that be in college sports always bump up the blue blood. We’ve got the better resume, but they’ve got Rudy and Jeremiyah Love. They’ll need to lose to either Syracuse (like a 10% chance of that happening) or Stansbury (nope) for us to win out and be chosen over them. Put your eye towards some of the other beatable teams hovering in top 12 land, like BYU, Utah, or Miami. Either Cin City or UCF could knock off the Mormons (and also, we would have the better overall resume); I could squint and see either of Kansas State or Kansas pulling off a squeaker over Joe Pesci’s favorite team…
…and Miami… well… they’re just not very good. They’re pretty much riding high off having a good DE and pre-season ranking.
More importantly, you probably shouldn’t worry about any of this, as we have The Jamal Mashburn Wedding Jerseys and The Knoxville Buttchuggers still on the schedule, and winning in the SEC is never easy.
As for the question about the OK Boomers, they just beat The Chuggers and the Ramajama Gumps back to back. Unless they choke against Missourah (spits), which is certainly possible, or a feckless Gumbo Bengals squad, which is less likely, they’re in.
Question from JesseCuster44:
I remember a homecoming where 21 year old me threw a fit that we lost to a vastly inferior South Carolina team. Bottles were thrown. Curses were uttered. Fines were levied.
Nice to see that this VU team is DIFFERENT. Just keep winning, fellas.
So how much is the OT win vs a pesky Auburn team with a new coach (head and shoulders better than Hugh Freeze) and a poor defensive showing going to hurt the ‘Dores in the eyes of voters this week?
How great is the timing of this bye week?
And, how many points do we have to outscore UK by to make the showdown in Knoxville the biggest feetball game in state history?
Answers from AoG:
Tom Stephenson: There is no way this will ever be a bigger football game than Sewanee-Rhodes.
PatrickSawyer: Bye week timing is perfect.
Vandy went from 16 to 14 after the OT win. Both teams in front of them lost. Adding some style points would probably help unless they get a ton of help. Control what you can control and let the cards fall.
It does not appear that both teams have ever been ranked in a matchup before, so yeah, it will be the biggest if Vanderbilt knocks off Kentucky and THEY beat Florida.
Cole Sullivan: Great timing. I needed a break after watching that win, and I bet our team needed a break after playing in it. We needed a bit of a reset before we get to the two biggest games in Vandy history one after the other.
Addressing the difference between a big win and a tight one, I really think the voters are not going to value one that much more over the other.
Andrew VU ‘04: In terms of voters, they mostly go based on party affiliation. The swing voters have the memories of goldfish, and just go based on how the party in charge is doing. Based on the results in NJ and VA recently, things are not looking good for the party in charge in the near future.
Question from VUOffspring:
Our pass rush has disappeared. The last time anyone caught sight of it was against Missouri. Does the fact that we never got close to Arch in the Texas game or Ashton in the Auburn game have anything to do with our injuries or simply exhaustion and a much-needed bye week. Thoughts?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: The “pass rush” issues against Texas were just how quickly Arch was throwing the ball. They never had a chance to get to him. Against Auburn, the rush was mostly 4-man pressures that created some trouble, but Daniels was able to slip away. I think they will be rejuvenated off the bye week, too.
Cole Sullivan: I mean, Texas has big bodies. Auburn, I don’t know. The release time was real quick, but by now you think we would have figured out how to adjust.
Andrew VU ‘04: I honestly don’t know, but last week’s bye could not have come at a better time. They got a week to heal, rest, finish their fall semester work (okay, not that one), and should be recharged for the playoff push. I know this is not where you come for the “We’ll have to see” response, but we’ll know for sure before halftime against The Wedding Jerseys.
Question from ask_thedoctor:
Thank God for ACC chaps helping us out yesterday. With Wake beating UVA and Cal beating Louisville, our biggest competitors for those final slots have taken on an unranked loss. Louisville still has to play UK to end the season (as well as Clemson and SMU) and UVA still has Duke and VA Tech, so each will play an opponent we’ve played. And neither have any more chances for ranked wins. Assuming UVA wins out, do you take 10-2 Vandy or 10-2 UVA?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: Every scenario is such a crap shoot. CFB is weird. Just be glad we are in the conversation.
Cole Sullivan: Va… not VA.
Andrew VU ‘04: Who ya with? Not only would I take the Gridiron Dores in that match-up, but even the CFP-eople would go with us. Our resume’s just stronger. Also, I read all of this in a British accent due to the typo “ACC chaps.” All hail the Mandator.
Question from SmokinJay:
How can anyone argue there’s a better player in college football than Diego Pavia?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: I think Fernando Mendoza is probably the Heisman winner if not for #NerdSchool. Simpson is an obvious backup. Pavia is very, very good. I am mostly fine with where the discourse is right about now. It has rebounded a few times.
Cole Sullivan: “WWWEEEEELLLLlllllllll Ty Simpson (who plays at Bama with way more talent around him) has more yards (because he plays in a fundamentally different offensive scheme) and fewer interceptions (actually fair) and everyone knows that things like rushing yards don’t matter for a quarterback (unless they play for a school that’s good at football like Jayden Daniels at LSU or Kyler Murray at Oklahoma), and who can be bothered to watch the games and see for themselves just how well any given quarterback excels at reading the field (although I watch my team’s quarterback all the time and think he’s just grand), making the right decision, and more often than not protecting the ball when most other quarterbacks probably would have lost it or at least come closer than Diego did? And if he were that good, surely he would be playing at a real football school like Alabama or Ohio State, because those guys are actual Heisman contenders.”
Or something like that…
Andrew VU ‘04: The first amendment allows people to spout all sorts of interpretive jiggery pokery and/or pure applesauce.
Question from kslaught:
I’m no defensive guru, but interested in opinions. Offences are moving the ball against us at will, mostly through the air. IMO we should blitz the hell out of our opponent. This may create a risk of getting beat, but our defense is getting the hell beat out of themselves already. Nothing can stop a drive quicker than a big TFL on a sack, along with shaking up the QB.
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: I would like to see slightly less soft coverage shells, which we mostly did against Auburn. That game really was mostly about Cam Coleman making 5 superman catches. I am fully supportive of more pressure.
Cole Sullivan: Yeah we gotta be doing more. I hope we’ve been in the lab on defense during the bye week. Or wherever it is you go to improve a defense.
Andrew VU ‘04: The thing that pissed me off was the poor tackling vs. Tejas. We’re a much more talented squad on offense than defense, to be certain, but we should be able to wrap up, and not look like a bunch of yokels chasing a greased up pig. I don’t know if more blitzing is the answer, but more creativity up front—stunts and whatnot—is definitely needed. Have to make the QB go off his first read. Have to be able to tackle. Have to stop the run. Have to.
Question from VandyStud:
Is the offensive line just horrible on run blocking?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: No.
Cole Sullivan: No?
Andrew VU ‘04: No?
Question from VU1970:
Would Diego have made that first down if he hadn’t stumbled?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: Not quite. It would have taken something really special from him.
Cole Sullivan: Diego is a fairy tale creature so yes, he probably makes it one way or another.
Andrew VU ‘04: It didn’t look like it to me, but he has magic in his legs, so I’m not going to say no for sure. It seemed like an overall strange and ineffective play call—and one that was executed poorly, as well.
Question from VU2020:
Can we talk about the defense? You can certainly make excuses for the performance based on a limited scouting report and lack of tape on Ashton Daniels, but giving up 38 points to this Auburn team? Vandy can certainly not afford to look past Kentucky, who just lit up Florida for 38 points. How does the defense improve and make a statement in these last two regular season games?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: After re-watching the game, I really am not as mad about the defense as I was leaving the game, which might be a low bar. THe two man issues were using a lot of interior pass rush stunts and twists that gave Daniels room to escape wide, and he’s a talented runner. When he got into trouble, lobbing the ball in Cam Coleman or Erick Singleton Jr’s general vicinity can hurt a lot of defenses.
It has been a shocking regression after locking up Missouri for 80% of the game until going too soft against a backup. Still, we knew the offense would need to carry the defense at times.
Cole Sullivan: Gah can we talk about something else? Like how we need to change the logo back?
Andrew VU ‘04: Just crossing my fingers and hoping it was exhaustion from the grind of an SEC season. Great time for the bye week. Remember, playing football is like getting in a car wreck multiple times per game. Against SEC teams with size/speed/strength freaks aplenty, it’s like getting in multiple car wrecks with Big Rigs.
