2013-14 Preview (SEC) Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt amazingly finished last season 9-4, the most wins they have had since 1915. The team finished on a 7 game winning streak and it was a very exciting season in Nashville.
Vanderbilt Commodores (Team Link)
Coach: James Franklin
2012 Record: 9-4
Odds of winning BCS Championship: +2000 (field)
As impressive as it was though don’t go thinking this means that the Commodores are among the SEC Elite though as they lost to every single team on their schedule who finished with a winning record except for Ole Miss. They are not the doormats anymore and they play tough but this is still Vanderbilt.
But this is a confident Vanderbilt led by a coach in James Franklin who won’t let his team think it is inferior even if all the recruiting rankings may tell them so. This team is more than good enough to go bowling for the third year in a row which is unprecedented in the long history of the school.
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They might even wind up having a first round draft pick, another rarity, in rangy wide receiver Jordan Matthews. This program is solid right now.
For the Commodores to continue their recent success they will have to get good play out of new quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels.
The Wyoming transfer was a fantastic playmaker for the Cowboys but here at Vandy he has the luxury of throwing to one of the best receivers in America in Jordan Matthews, and two other returning receivers – they might have the best receivers in the SEC.
This Vanderbilt offense is very experienced, a rare unit in that just one underclassman is expected to start.
The passing game looks like it is in good shape but last year the team had nice balance because of running back Zack Stacey, who is now in the NFL after twice rushing for more than 1000 yards. It looks like the starting gig is going to go to senior RB Wesley Tate.
Yes, sophomore Brian Kimbrow is the leading returning rusher but the majority of that was achieved against Presbyterian and UMass so it doesn’t really count. Carta-Samuels is a very good runner too, better than the now departed Jordan Rodgers so I would expect to see some more QB designed runs.
A key to Vanderbilt’s success last season was the defense. They gave up just 19ppg overall and even pitched a shutout at Kentucky.
5 starters overall return and the secondary should again be very good with CB Andre Hall and FS Kenny Ladler receiving preseason all conference honours. Both are seniors and led the team with a couple of interceptions each. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Like the offense only one underclassmen is expected to start as Franklin is smartly managing his roster to compete with schools who have advantages when it comes to recruiting.
2013-14 Record Projection: 6-6
That record is a slide back to reality for Vanderbilt but don’t forget the Commodores have only won as many as 6 games twice since 1982. I like that Franklin has instilled in his kids a don’t back down attitude but they are outmanned.
I have no idea why Carta-Samuels chose Vanderbilt as his transfer destination but he is an exciting player. As a freshman he led Wyoming to a rare winning season, including a bowl win, and it often looked like they were just drawing up plays in the dirt.
Having a player that can improvise at that position could be very effective for Vanderbilt as they won’t be sneaking up on anybody this season. The schedule is OK but games outside the division against Texas A&M and Ole Miss to start the season are probably losses.
This team is just highly unlikely to be able to recreate the perfect storm they had last year of being good enough to beat all the weaklings on their schedule.
Splitting those games this year is the big difference and games against the heavyweights like Georgia will again show the difference between programs.
2013 Commodores Schedule:
AUG 29 – Ole Miss
SEP 7 – Austin Peay
SEP 14 – @South Carolina
SEP 21 – @Massachussetts
SEP 28 – UAB
OCT 5 – Missouri
OCT 19 – Georgia
OCT 26 – @Texas A&M
NOV 9 – @Florida
NOV 16 – Kentucky
NOV 23 – @Tennessee
NOV 30 – Wake Forest
