2014
Vanderbilt
College Football
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Odds and Schedule
Vanderbilt has made it to a bowl Game in three straight seasons, but this could be their hardest test yet. They’ll be bringing in first-year head coach Derek Mason, who comes in from Stanford as their associate head coach and defensive coordinator. Combine that with the loss of Austyn Carta-Samuels at quarterback, their top two stud receivers in Jordan Matthews and Jonathan Krause, and a new 3-4 defensive scheme, and the Commodores have their work cut out for them.
5 dimes sportsbook has Vanderbilt listed at current odds of 600 to 1 to win the National Championship in 2014. Nuff said.
They return just 11 starters in total, but they have plenty more guys that have experience. One of those spots isn’t quarterback where Patton Robinette (88 attempts in 2013) is competing with freshman Johnny McCrary for the job. All signs point to dual-threat McCrary getting the spot after a fantastic showing in the spring Game. Their QB play wasn’t great last year, so McCrary doesn’t have much to live up to. His receivers will be new with mostly underclassmen so that won’t help.
Vandy will lean on its rushing Game as much as possible, especially with McCrary’s athleticism. Their offensive line is probably the strongest part of this team with Four returning starters and the fifth guy has 16 career starts as a senior. That means running back Jerron SeymOur (716 yards, 14 TDs) is going to get plenty of work along with Brian Kimbrow and Ralph Webb.
The defense was stout a season ago, although struggled mightily against better offenses. The transition to a 3-4 defense is going to be the biggest question, even with only Four returning starters. The linebacking core is the most experienced of the bunch so that should help with Four upperclassmen as projected starters, but the secondary could be an issue.
The Commodores will once again get a fairly friendly Schedule, although maybe not quite as easy with both Georgia and Missouri Games coming on the road. Their SEC West competition is Mississippi State and Ole Miss, which isn’t too bad.
It helps that whoever they put in at quarterback will get an opener against Temple, so that should help bring the team together if they can win that Game big. Ole Miss will be tough, but before their South Carolina Game, they get UMass beforehand. Vandy doesn’t really get a tough stretch until the end of the year with Florida, at Miss. State and Tennessee, and that’s still not all that bad.
If Vandy can’t reach a bowl Game, it would definitely be a disappointment for Mason and his crew. Reaching nine wins might be a different story though, especially with a new defense and quarterback. If their defense can remain respectable, that should let the ground Game do its work on the offensive end and should keep them in plenty of Games against tougher opponents.
2014 Vanderbilt Football Schedule
Aug. 28 vs. Temple
Sep. 6 vs. Ole Miss (at LP Field)
Sep. 13 vs. Massachusetts
Sep. 20 vs. South Carolina
Sep. 27 at Kentucky
Oct. 4 at Georgia
Oct. 11 vs. Charleston Southern
Oct. 25 at Missouri
Nov. 1 vs. Old Dominion
Nov. 8 vs. Florida
Nov. 22 at Mississippi State
Nov. 29 vs. Tennessee