Despite coming up just short against No. 5 Texas in Saturday’s 24-27 loss, Vanderbilt Football gave another impressive performance against a top-rated team — a common theme across the Commodores’ first nine weeks of the season. Head coach Clark Lea isn’t looking for any moral victories, though, and is instead turning his team’s attention to this Saturday’s road matchup with Auburn.
“In the world of college football, you just don’t have time to let one game turn into the next, so we’ve turned the page from the Texas game on Sunday to Auburn,” Lea said.
In Saturday’s loss, Texas’ running back duo of Quintrevion Wisner and Jaydon Blue combined for 126 yards in a ground-and-pound effort that troubled the Commodores’ defense all evening. Lea felt that the Longhorns simply played a bigger, more physical game that wore out some of the technical components of Vanderbilt’s defense.
“As we watched the film, there were times where we felt that our technique slipped and the game got a little big and fast for us,” Lea said. “You’ve got to give [Texas] credit for both schematically challenging us and physically challenging us, so there’s a lot to be coached within that for us to improve.”
Lea also highlighted the importance of taking care of the football in the future. Diego Pavia — who only had one interception coming into last weekend — gave the ball away twice, while Sedrick Alexander had a crucial fumble in the second quarter that halted a promising drive.
“The biggest flaws in our performance came down to the turnovers and the three-and-outs that gave their offense a short field,” Lea said. “Those were the things we focused on strategically, fundamentally, and technically that we need to clean up.”
Turning his focus to Auburn, Lea praised the Tigers’ offensive effectiveness in all three phases of the game. He specifically addressed Auburn’s recent success in the running game, with running back Jacquez Hunter rushing for 278 yards and 2 touchdowns against a strong Kentucky front last week.
“He’s a really good player who’s going to run through tackles, and if you don’t have your body in contact he’s going to bounce off you,” Lea said. “ He runs behind his pads really well. He keeps his balance, [which] reminds me a lot of Ray Davis, that way. [He] just has a knack for patience and a cut and the ability to accelerate.”
Vanderbilt struggled to make open-field tackles this weekend against Texas, allowing runners to get into space and rack up yards after the catch. The Commodores will have to clean this up to have any hope of stopping Hunter. Lea addressed the team’s preparation ahead of this week’s matchup.
“We need to [do] better [at] tackling than we were on Saturday,” Lea stated. “We have to be a layered defense. We have to ice the ball. We have to play square and physically at the line of scrimmage.”
Lea acknowledged that with Auburn’s commitment to the run game and Vanderbilt’s methodical style of play, the game may come down to a few crucial plays. Ball security, winning the turnover battle and time of possession will be key in giving Vanderbilt the best chance to create the explosive plays it needs to win.
“It’s going to be about how to generate some chunks and get points. Rushing yards becomes a big measure in that too,” Lea said. “Obviously, turnovers are huge so all these things kind of fit within our normal personality. But I think we’re going into this game thinking that possession of the ball is going to be precious.”
Lea complimented Auburn’s defense, citing its low yards per play allowed and high forced incompletion rate. Pavia struggled to make plays in the passing game last week, completing just 55% of his throws against Texas’ similarly strong defense.
“You talk about Auburn’s] defense where the yards per play that they’re giving up is among the best in the country. Their contested incompletion is among the best in the country,” Lea said. “They’ve been really good in the red zone defensively. You can tell the space is [going to be] hard to come by.”
Vanderbilt will face Auburn on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. CDT at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
