Vanderbilt football report card: Defense gets high marks, offense flunks in loss to Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. — In a game full of missed opportunities, Vanderbilt football let its best chance at an SEC win this season slip away Saturday. The Commodores (3-5, 0-4 SEC) lost to Missouri (3-4, 1-4), 17-14, in a game defined by opposing grades on the two sides of the ball.
Offense: F
Vanderbilt's offense played arguably its worst game of the season. Though Missouri's defense is solid, the Commodores struggled to finish drives despite favorable field position. Quarterback AJ Swann played his worst game. Though some of his mistakes were perhaps expected for a freshman, they came at a bad time in one of Vanderbilt's most winnable games. Swann did not appear for the entire fourth quarter due to injury, and although backup Mike Wright threw a touchdown pass, he also missed an open receiver in the end zone. To end the game, running back Ray Davis got stuffed on a fourth-and-1 when the Commodores still had a chance to win.
Defense: A-
Vanderbilt's much-maligned defense actually played well enough to win. There were still some intermittent issues with allowing big plays, but the Commodores were able to get pressure on the quarterback and racked up 11 tackles for loss, three sacks and three turnovers. Vanderbilt held Missouri to 4.7 yards per play.
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After a 17-point first half, the defense clamped down and shut out the Tigers in the second half. The defense actually outscored Missouri after halftime, as CJ Taylor returned a fumble for a touchdown to get Vanderbilt's first points on the board.
While the Commodores' defense for most of the season has been ugly, on Saturday it played a strong game that should've been enough to win.
Special teams: B-
Special teams had several highlight plays: a recovered kickoff, a successful fake punt, a 57-yard punt. But it also had two missed field goals — and had both been made, Vanderbilt could've won the game. Even with one made, the Commodores may have been able to force overtime.
But the grade can't be too low here because Vanderbilt consistently won the field-position game, averaging starting at its own 35 compared to Missouri's own 25. A grade of B- splits the difference between high marks for the individual plays and low ones for the missed kicks.
Coaching: B-
After Swann got hurt, Vanderbilt's coaches didn't have much of a choice but to put in Wright, so that decision isn't on them. Outside of that, positives included the defensive adjustments after halftime — Tigers quarterback Brady Cook was off-balance all game — and some aggressive special teams decisions, like the one to run a fake punt, that paid off.
On the other hand, the offense has regressed throughout the season. Swann struggled before getting hurt and the play-calling was conservative at times. Some of that comes with the territory of playing a freshman quarterback, but after the offense played reasonably well against teams like Wake Forest and Ole Miss, it's worth wondering what has gone wrong since.
Overall: C
This grade splits the difference between the two extremes on the offense and defense. Missouri was the best matchup and most winnable game remaining on the schedule. To lose it — especially in a manner filled with missed opportunities — may well haunt the Commodores long after this week. That being said, playing a competitive game after three straight blowouts and in particular the defensive improvement is worth noting and praising.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football: Report card for loss to Missouri
