Jordan Rodgers Leads Vanderbilt Past Army, 44-21
by Christian D'Andrea on Oct 22, 2011 10:21 PM EDT
in Vanderbilt Commodores Football
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PrintJordan Rodgers's first start as a Commodore was a successful one. He led Vanderbilt to a 44-21 win over Army at Homecoming Saturday night.
Rodgers's passing was better than it was against Georgia, but he still finished with a disappointing 10-27 passing line, 186 yards through the air, and two interceptions. He often missed open receivers downfield and let big play opportunities dissipate throughout the night. Despite this, he averaged 18.6 yards per completion thanks to some big plays from Chris Boyd, Jonathan Krause, and Wesley Tate. His ability to create plays through his scrambling was on display all night, as he ran for 95 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries for the night.
Boyd and Tate emerged as Rodgers's top targets throughout the night. Boyd proved that he's a high-level receiver by using his size and speed to create openings downfield. He had four catches for 90 yards and made a strong case for becoming this team's number one receiver. Tate was another effective target throughout the night, catching three passes.
The 'Dores blew open the game with a 24-point run in the second and third quarters that put Army on the ropes. Rodgers, Zac Stacy, and Jerron Seymour all rushed for touchdowns during a stretch that put Vanderbilt up 37-6 on the Golden Knights. Stacy's touchdown was his second on the night, but not his last. He'd add another on a 55 yard run in the fourth quarter to effectively seal the Vandy win. Stacy finished the game with a personal best 198 yards on the ground in another very solid effort for the junior tailback.
Vanderbilt held Army's vaunted running defense to 266 yards on the night. That doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment until you figure in the Black Knights' triple-option offense and their NCAA-leading 361 rushing yards per game. Larry Dixon led the team with 91 rushing yards, including a 57 yard dash that kept Vandy fans nervous through the third quarter.
The win brings the 'Dores within two victories of a bowl bid. The team is now 4-3 (1-3 SEC) on the season. They'll have to maintain the momentum of this big offensive output next week when they face #10 Arkansas at Dudley Field.
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Win #4
Good game by Rodgers.
Matthews was disappointing.
Happy with the win.
by Haiku Dore on Oct 22, 2011 10:38 PM EDT via iPhone app reply actions
I only hope we see more of this gimmick. poetry majors, unite!
by Christian D'Andrea on Oct 23, 2011 12:39 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I only hope we see more of this gimmick. poetry majors, unite!
by Christian D'Andrea on Oct 23, 2011 12:39 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The best gimmick is double posting.
by Christian D'Andrea on Oct 23, 2011 12:58 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Did the hit cause the Pick 6?
From my vantage point, I’d say no. He got the lousy throw off and then took his lick. But I never saw anything I considered the definitive angle.
That said, although Jordan’s not anything approaching “good,” he was still better than Larry. Anyone still want to argue that point or was I mistaken that some people thought I was an idiot for wanting to start Jordan over Larry? I also seem to recall something about Larry obviously being the far better runner.
Hopefully, Jordan gets at least a couple notches better in the next few weeks of taking snaps with the real team in practice. It’s possible that we could beat Kentucky, WF and Tennessee with a QB who plays like that but we’d stand a far better shot with one who didn’t miss so many open receivers.
As for the attendance, I think the school should fine any student, undergrad or grad, who does not attend a home game when we’re on television. If I was a recruit, tuning in tonight to check out this program, I’d have been reasonably impressed with what I saw on the field but very dubious about going somewhere people can’t even bother to show up when I had the opportunity to go someplace where I’d be treated as a hero by passionate fans. I’m not kidding about this. Part of why you go to college rather than reading books at home and taking tests is to be part of a community. So get your asses to the field.
by Andrew D. Smith on Oct 22, 2011 10:40 PM EDT reply actions
The only argument...
was that our coaches know more than you do when it comes to QB decisions. Would you like to argue otherwise?
James Franklin was not afraid to make a switch with Danny O’Brien last year and he was not afraid to make it this year either. I credit our coaches for making the right decision at the right time. Maybe we would be 6-0 with Rodgers as QB, but I think bringing him in for his first start against Army made a lot more sense than bringing him in for his first start in Tuscaloosa or even at home against UGA.
Timing issues
Rodgers is a really good QB just needs more time with the 1st team to get down his timing with the WR’s.
trying not to read too much into this win...
I mean, it’s Army – the closest thing to a sure win in the back half of the schedule. The QB change hasn’t cut down on the scary number of throws into double coverage, and I wonder how well Jordan will run into the teeth of SEC defenses…but hell, it’s a win, it’s as many wins as the last two years combined, and I’ll have it.
How did I not grasp that Arkansas was a home game? After they barely got by Ole Mrs (Josh Grady is a national treasure) I have to think they are vulnerable…of course that prob just means they come out guns blazing…
Whatevs. Back over .500! WHO YA WIT?
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
by VandyImport on Oct 23, 2011 2:18 AM EDT via iPhone app reply actions
VU!
Games like this you almost have to watch in a vacuum and not even think about the rest of the season otherwise they just aren’t much fun. It’s fun to see us score all game, but when you score by running what seems like 6 consecutive QB draws, it’s hard not to think about how that doesn’t transfer at all if we’re playing a team we aren’t just that much better than.
But the big thing is, those teams that you are way better than can beat you, or at least scare you, if you don’t show up, so it’s fun to be able to be confident we’ll take care of business.
I think we could beat Arkansas, but it would take an unbelievable game from the secondary. I think we can run the ball against them, but if we’re going to do it for a whole game Jordan is going to have to make a good throw basically every time a WR actually manages to get open.
Good luck with that...
The kid is definitely better than his stats. But he’d almost have to be, I suppose…meanwhile, the secondary didn’t have a lot to do last night, which is predictable when you’re playing a triple-option run by a backup QB. Hopefully the near-week-off will pay dividends come Saturday…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
Zac Stacy...
vs. USC and Bama – 11 rushes for 22 yards.
vs. Ole Miss, UGA, and Army – 49 rushes for 464 yards
Ingram + Clowney = No Joke
I hope we never have to run into that mangle again.
…next year?
Shit.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
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