14 in 14: Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt finds itself in a familiar place heading into 2021: the mat. What got us here and what can Clark Lea do to make Vandy a winner?
By: Bossman Slim
That was the easiest graphic we made so far. And to be nice, we made that biscuit as big as we could. That’s about the last nice thing we’re going to do in this column today.
In other sports, Vanderbilt can hold their own. In football, Vanderbilt gets run over by a freight train nearly every fall. The Commodores have not had a winning season since James Franklin roamed the sidelines in 2013. In 2012 and 2013, Vandy went 9-4, reached a bowl game, and finished the year ranked in the top 25. Then Franklin bolted for the greener pastures of Happy Valley and the Black and Gold reverted to the mean under Derek Mason. Since 1980, you can count on one hand how many winning seasons the Commodores have put together: four. And 50% of those came from Franklin. Not even record-setting Smokin’ Jay Cutler could pull out a winning record in Nashville in his four seasons.
And while we know of the powers that be in the SEC, it shouldn’t really be this way...right? Vanderbilt is a world-class institution and the top-ranked university in the SEC (which..we know, sometimes works against them, but still). Plus, Nashville, anyone? If I’m a recruit, I certainly would think hard about getting an education from Vanderbilt and enjoying Music City for all it has to offer.
So what’s going on in Nashville?
As a reminder, here’s our biscuits rating system by visual. If you need a full reminder, go check out the Florida 14-in-14.
State of the Program is...Rock Bottom; 1/12 biscuits
You don’t overcome an all-time losing record (548-614) and the ingrained mentality that comes with it easily. That kind of perpetual losing puts a cloud over a program, and it’s difficult to break the spell. As we pointed out, Vanderbilt does not have a winning tradition and the further you dig, the worse it seems to get. In the 117 seasons that Vanderbilt has played football, they had never posted a goose egg in the win column...until 2020.
You’ve heard us say it here a million times at this point, but it all starts with recruiting. Want to know why Vanderbilt can’t compete? Their recruiting has been atrocious. Since 2011, Vanderbilt has finished with a sub-40th ranked recruiting class only once. ONCE. In a ten-year span from Franklin through Mason, the Commodores finished dead last in the SEC in recruiting 7/10 times. When they weren’t dead last, they finished 12/14, three times (2012, 2013, 2018). Franklin was able to reel in a borderline top 25 class in 2013, but that quickly showed itself as an anomaly when Mason finished with the 46th-ranked class and dead last in the SEC the very next year. If the Commodores are to ever ascend in the SEC, they must improve recruiting. Period.
After yet another failed coach, the program finds itself completely back at square one. This is rock bottom. The program either stays at the bottom or goes up from here. New coach. New staff. New mentality. New athletic director. New facilities coming. And a renewed commitment to supporting football from the athletic department.
We’ll see.
What went right in 2020
Freshman QB Ken Seals showed positive signs in his first season at the helm for Vandy. (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)
Sarah Fuller kicked a field goal, which is great. That’s about the only thing that went well for the Commodores. They were blown out in six of their nine games, losing by an average of 22 points a game on the season. If the SEC had relegation like European soccer, Vanderbilt would be relegated to the Sun Belt. In fact, at this point, they might be in the FCS. Actually, that’s disrespectful to the FCS…they would probably be in the ACC. We’re not talking about burned biscuits here. We’re talking about Grandma left them in the oven overnight and caught the house on fire.
If you have to find bright spots or glimmers of hope in Vanderbilt’s case, there are a few. Pushing a Texas A&M team early in the year, on the road in Kyle Field, shows that this roster did have some toughness. That was freshman QB Ken Seals’ first start and he nearly pulled off a massive upset, going 20/29 for a 69% completion percentage, 150 yards a TD and two INTs. That Texas A&M team went on to challenge for the College Football Playoff, and their QB Kellen Mond is knocking on the door of being a first-round NFL draft pick.
While it didn’t translate to wins, Seals showed promise for Vanderbilt and gives new head coach Clark Lea a stable hand under center for the next 2-3 years. Seals nearly crossed the 2,000-yard passing mark on the season and completed 65% of his passes with 12 TDs and 10 INTs. Obviously, there is much room for improvement, but Seals is going to be the lynchpin of this offense for the foreseeable future.
What went wrong in 2020
All of it went wrong in 2020.
We don’t have time to do it, but we could fill a book about what went wrong for the Commodores. It wasn’t Black Hawk Down, but it was Anchor Down.
We’ll start on offense. Let’s put it this way: as a team, Vanderbilt did not crack 1,000 yards rushing. The leading rusher, Keyon Henry-Brooks, rushed for 494 yards, good for (you guessed it) last in the SEC for a starting running back. Even Matt Corrall outrushed Henry-Brooks. Three SEC running backs outrushed the entire Commodores team. QB Ken Seals was sacked 20 times on the year for a loss of 144 yards, and it would have been worse if not for Seals’ ability to scramble. What does that tell us? Vandy got mowed over in the trenches, with Vanderbilt’s offensive line failing the test big time this year. Only one offense in the SEC was worse overall in 2020 - Kentucky - and the Commodores lost to them.
On defense, the story was more or less the same. The defensive line could get no push and finished next to last in sacks. The secondary fared no better. There was only one defense worse than the Black and Gold in 2020, and that was Ole Miss. Vanderbilt gave up 487 yards and 37 points per game. How are you going to win football games like that? Answer: you can’t, unless you have Lane Kiffin calling plays on the other side of the ball. Even then, you’re .500 at best. To torch the Vandy defense this year, all you needed to do was get off the bus.
What the Commodores need in 2021
Wow, Vandy, you look great. That’s a helluva makeover in just one year.
HELP.gif. The Commodores need a full makeover and an even more drastic one than all the Kardashian sisters combined. I guess Vandy could get a makeover with less plastic, but they still need a full-blown overhaul. Clark Lea is hoping he can throw some lipstick on this pig, but it will not be pretty for a few years. You don’t go from Kylie Jenner to Kylie Billionaire in a day. It’s going to take a multi-year investment in facilities upgrades, recruiting improvement, and on-field wins to make Vanderbilt a consistent winner.
What the Commodores need in 2021 is buy-in and belief. Coach Lea has to sell the dream of a great Vanderbilt program not only to recruits but to the guys already in the building. Lea needs a few early bright spots on the field, and preferably a win or two, to get the guys in the locker room believing in the dream and the foundation they’re laying. That’s the first step, and should be Lea’s number one goal in 2021.
A massive turnaround can be done at a perennial doormat program. Just ask Kansas State legend Bill Snyder.
How they can earn some extra biscuits
IT’S AN ILLUSION, MICHAEL! Vandy could go the magic route to earn some extra biscuits, because that may be what it takes. But what they really need is to earn that buy-in and belief of the players and sell the vision in recruiting. Vandy can get out of the dreaded one-biscuit rating by going .500 in their four out-of-conference games and by stealing an SEC win or two. Vandy has a favorable schedule next year, and the need to capitalize on some down SEC programs (South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky) to build momentum for their future.
Did we get it right? Completely wrong? What’d we miss? Chip us on Twitter @biscuitsandsec.
Next up:
Auburn