The Commodore Review: How Vanderbilt Really Looked in the Liberty Bowl
by Christian D'Andrea on Jan 3, 2012 12:40 PM EST
in Vanderbilt Commodores Football
Email
Print
Vanderbilt dropped back to .500 in all-time bowl play on Saturday, falling to the co-Big East champions Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl. The Bearcats used big performances to outplay the Commodores in the fourth quarter, erasing Vandy's only lead of the second half in just 12 seconds and holding on for the postseason victory. While the loss was disappointing, it was the capstone of a season that will ultimately go down as a rousing success for first year head coach James Franklin.
The Commodores knew what was coming, but failed to stop Cincinnati effectively enough to ever build a significant lead. UC used their two primary weapons - an elusive running game and a powerful defensive line - to disrupt Franklin's game plan throughout the afternoon. The former provided all the offense that Butch Jones would need for the win. The latter kept Jordan Rodgers and Larry Smith rattled in the pocket and unable to use weapons like Jordan Matthews and Brandon Barden effectively.
Smith replaced Rodgers late in the third quarter after the redshirt junior struggled with his accuracy throughout the first half. The senior, who was the team's starter in their last bowl win, led the team to an early touchdown and then provided a big spark with the 'Dores trailing 17-14, hitting Chris Boyd on a receiver screen that Boyd took 68 yards to the end zone. However, Smith's magic wore off as his drives stalled throughout the fourth quarter, leading to a pair of three-and-outs and an interception that handed the Bearcats a 31-21 lead with just 3:15 left in the game.
Larry would lead the team back for a late field goal and a last ditch chance to tie the game, but Ryan Fowler's onside kick was recovered by UC, effectively ending Vandy's hopes. The defeat sealed a losing season for Vanderbilt, but it's safe to say that even a 6-7 record exceeded most of the team's expectations for 2011 after winning just four total games in 2009 and 2010.
While much of the season was predicated on building a "brand new Vanderbilt," many parts of Saturday's loss looked like a tribute to the offenses of Bobby Johnson and Robbie Caldwell. Mistakes doomed the Commodores when the team failed to create an effective passing game. Bad reads and poorly thrown passes helped an unheralded Cincinnati secondary come up with two interceptions. Mistakes on special teams (a fumbled kickoff return) and on fourth down (Zac Stacy's incomplete jump-pass to Brandon Barden) gave the Bearcats great field position that put even more pressure on this team's defense.
With the exception of some big runs, the Vandy defense was up to the task. However, tackling failures in the secondary helped turn some modest UC gains into big ones, and turned a first quarter defensive battle into a 55-point affair by the game's end. While the 'Dores came up big with three sacks, a pair of interceptions, and the pressure that limited Zach Collaros to just 80 passing yards, they also allowed the Bearcats to rip off an average of five yards each time they ran the ball.
The loss provides the team with a template of the areas in which they need to improve in 2012. Fortunately, they have reinforcements coming in that should shore up the weaknesses that Cincinnati exposed. The addition of newly eligible quarterbacks Austyn Carta-Samuels and Josh Grady should help fuel Jordan Rodgers's development - or barring that, give the team another viable option behind center. A deep secondary will have trouble replacing stalwarts like Casey Hayward and Sean Richardson, but players like Andre Hal, Kenny Ladler, and Javon Marshall have shown that they are capable of handling featured roles for this team.
More importantly, the impact of Franklin's first full recruiting class will help shape the 2012 campaign. While the losses of leaders like Chris Marve and Tim Fugger will undoubtedly hurt, the incoming presence of players like Jacob Sealand, Caleb Azubike, Josh Dawson, Stephen Weatherly, and Darreon Herring will flesh out this team's depth chart and potentially even add some fresh faces to the starting lineup. And that's not even including the potential offensive impact of high school All-Americans Brian Kimbrow and Andre McDonald.
Yes, this Liberty Bowl loss is ultimately a setback, but it's also an amazing indicator of how far this team has come. Even months earlier, scoring 24 points in a bowl game seemed to be a fantasy. With a brazen new coach lighting up the recruiting trail and a young, deep team learning the ropes, 2011 seemed like it would just be a bridge to a new era of Vanderbilt football that was years ahead. Instead, Franklin motivated this team to a 6-6 regular season and showed fans across the country that the renaissance began as soon as he stepped on campus.
That 31-24 loss may not have felt like much, but it was the culmination of one of the hardest-worked years that Vanderbilt football has ever gotten from a head coach. For Franklin, the season isn't over yet - it won't end in earnest until every recruit has faxed in their written commitment to Vanderbilt next month. But even then, the work won't stop. There are miles and miles to go before the Commodores even gain the respect of the SEC and NCAA - but it looks like James Franklin wouldn't want it any other way.
The PiBB ICE Player of the Week: Larry Smith.
He's been Vanderbilt's most effective quarterback for 100 percent of their bowl games since 1983. He led this team during his five years in Nashville and was the consumate teammate. He handled his duty with class and leaves as a fan favorite. Thanks for being our quarterback, Larry. Sorry about all the bad photoshops.
15 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
To steal from myself again:
Maybe this is realistic, maybe not, but here’s what I’d like to see:
Season one: more than two wins.
Season two: not less than 5 wins (including, by definition, at least one conference win)
Season three: not less than 6 wins (which would assume a bowl since they hand those out like candy now)
Season four: not less than 7 wins AND a bowl bid outside the 615 area code.
Season five: all of season four PLUS at least one big-ticket win over the Penitentiary of Tennessee, or some big-ticket foe like Florida or Alabama that we haven’t beaten in years.
Had we won, we would have been where I expected to be after four years. As it is, we’re already two years past where I was hoping for twelve months ago (and saying “maybe this is unrealistic”).
If I had to pin it down to one thing, I’d say we had the yips. It looked like the Tennessee game – we were skittish and never really got on track, and without a solid start we just got done to death by a superior front and a running back who’s going to have a nice Sunday afternoon career.
I realize it’s the Big East, but to only be a touchdown worse than another conference’s co-champion after one season? I can’t get too down about this year, especially seeing the talent on the way. We have a lot to feel good about and I can’t wait for September…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
Stat Boy says, (If you care)
Jordan- 4-14, 26 yds. 0 TD, 1 INT. 9 rushing attempts for 33 yards.
This makes Brett a Sad Panda.
Smith- 8-19, 142 yds. 1 TD, 1 INT. 5 rushing attempts for 17 yards.
Good for Larry. A decent quarterback showing. But it wasn’t good enough.
For the year,
J. Rodgers 108 216 1524 50.0 7.06 9 10 113.8
Larry Smith 68 123 668 55.3 5.43 5 6 104.6
What happened here? What the hell happened, Jordan? You were my man! My guy. Discount Double-Check Jr!
Upon listening to radio this morning, I overheard something interesting. Reports that Jordan ignored the game plan, calling most of his own shots and that his “hip pointer” wasn’t that pointy…
Any creedence?
by Brett McReynolds on Jan 3, 2012 1:16 PM EST reply actions
James Franklin's postgame comments seem to suggest that Rodgers's pulling was more performance based than injury.
From the AP article:
“Did you watch the first half?” Franklin said when asked about the change. “It wasn’t a whole lot of fun. We weren’t doing the things we were supposed to do. I don’t mean just Jordan, it was everybody.”
by Christian D'Andrea on Jan 3, 2012 2:06 PM EST up reply actions
Sounds like nerves.
With a rush like Cincy has, you don’t have to be off by much. A second slow, an inch wide, and all of a sudden you’re working with margins smaller than you can accommodate.
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
I'm now back to being optimistic.
During the game, it was easy to forget all the progress this team has made because the offense looked so much like the Bobby Johnson era offenses. That QB draw on 3rd and long brought back a lot of bad memories of that era. Like Train said, the team looked less like the “Brand New Vanderbilt” and a lot like the team we were used to seeing over the past few(?) seasons.
But a couple days out, I’m able to step back, and like this post emphasizes, there is a lot to be impressed by and a lot of reason for optimism going forward.
One thing that will be interesting to watch in Year 2 of the Franklin Era is how the team responds to high pressure games. In both the UT and Liberty Bowl games, the team seemed tight and error prone, as VandyImport pointed out. It was most obvious with Rodgers, but it wasn’t just him. I’ll be eager to see if we can turn the corner on that the psychological component.
It was a season filled with close games, blown calls, blowout wins, BNV, and SOV, and let’s face it – it was an emotional year. For the players, for CJF, for the fans. I have to think that next year we will see a team that really does expect to win every game they play, and I think that will help in overcoming some of the “yips” that plagued us at times.
I’m still kind of shocked at how quickly things have changed. My family may be moving back to Nashville this year, and it amazes me that my sons might grow up going to Vandy football games and I will have to tell them about the days when Vandy was a perpetual SEC doormat.
Me: “Yeah, we even lost to UT 25 years in a row.”
Sons: “UT?!”
Me: “Yep, hard to believe, I know.”
We've always been optimistic, then Robbie Caldwell steps in...
My issues with the past football teams has been what’s our offensive philosphy and are we practicing to make our weaknesses better. CJF has taken care of that for me. We seem to be a run to pass team now and every week they looked like they have actually practiced a game plan rather than “We’ll try this and if it don’t work we’ll do that double reverse play a couple of times” we’ve been used to seeing.
That makes me thoroughly optimistic for next year, also. We now have a starting point as to what needs worked on and a coach who seems to want ot work on it.
Agree with you completely.
We now have a real offensive game plan and the personnel to run it. Post-Cutler, we more or less needed a miracle to score on offense. You’re right about the old game plan – Run up the middle for no gain, QB draw, double reverse, punt.
by Pope Vanderbilt on Jan 4, 2012 11:52 AM EST up reply actions
What looked great at the Liberty Bowl was
The crowd. I still cannot believe the response from the Vandy fans.
While the team doesn’t get championship rings for the bowl, I hope they are given large photos of the Vandy section of the field. That the coaching staff and players could have made such an impact on fans is extraordinary.
Btw, while driving home to No.Va. I noticed an amazing thing: as I was doing the Vandy hand sign to other Vandy cars, there were NO giant UT signs anywhere, not even in Knoxville. In fact saw many more Vandy cars then UT cars the entire length of the State.
by vandygal78 on Jan 3, 2012 4:37 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I'm still not sure.
CJF has made a difference, I agree. But in the liberty Bowl post game he reminded me of a used car salesman. He was so busy selling his decision on the QB change, that he didn’t even let Larry take responsibility for the int. Larry said, “I threw the ball behind him… and they made a play on it.” CJF jumped in and said that the receiver stopped too long and that was the reason… STOP!!!!! I have been a season ticket holder for well over a decade. STOP!!!!! I was at the game, plus, I have seen Larry struggle down the field before. Look at the beginning of the season for goodness sake. Check out the team’s scores for each game after Rogers became QB, and compare it to when Smith was the QB. It’s like CJF has a “man crush” on Larry. I am sure Larry is a great guy, with excellent comitment and drive. He’s probably even a Christian brother of mine, but he’s not an SEC QB. CJF was upset over Rogers’ int., in my opinion, and was trying to get something going. But he didn’t suffer through last year here at Vandy.
Four wins in the past two seasons is a true statement, but which SEC team did you always know would be a possible win for us when you looked at the schedule? Ole Miss and Kentucky have always been a possible victory for us. Who did we beat this year in the SEC? Yes, we scored more points this year. Yes, we were in many more games that we could have won like Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. But we still didn’t, regardless of how close it was, we lost. Yes, the entire program has a different feel to it. Yes, the recruiting is much better. Yes, I believe we were improved this year, at least after the Georgia game. But, Bobby Johnson won 6 games with less talent too. Bobby Johnson beat Ole Miss and Ky too. Robie Caldwell beat Ole Miss for goodness sake, and I believe he would have beaten Ky if he would have played this years team.
My Vandy family, I hope that the future is better. I am glad for the positive changes thus far. I pray that they continue in the future, especially with the recruits; it was disapointing about Gunner Kiel. I just don’t want a “hard sale” car salesman as a coach who’s record is only equal to the past, yet didn’t beat a Boston College, but lost to the “co-big east champ” in his bowl. (Maybe Cinci should be in the SEC instead of Texas A&M or Missouri.) I just want a coach who shows me more, and tries to sell me less. I was embarresed for the SEC with that loss, but I will always be a Vandy Fan.
Agree...
but at the same time, if he wasn’t trying to “sell” the program so hard, do you think we would have gotten the turnout we did at the Liberty Bowl?
Look, CJF is playing with the same talent that went 4-20 the previous 2 years. The Florida game was lost on a BS call. The Arkansas game was lost because of the Stacy fumble and missed FG’s (top kicker recruit coming in next year). There were questionable calls in the UT game. The Georgia game was lost on a dropped pass at the end. In past years, would we have even been in those games? What’s more, pretty much all of our wins came in blowout fashion.
I understand that wins are wins, and losses are losses, but rhetoric aside, come on… This team was not the same as in years past. The only game we were never in was the Bama game. 1. Bama’s Bama. 2. The score would have been 14-6 at half time had we a kicker. You can’t coach field goals through the uprights. The South Carolina game was lost due to spurts of ineptitude, often of Larry Smith.
Speaking of Larry Smith, his career is DONE here. It does no good for Franklin to critique him after the Liberty Bowl. It really does no good to even discuss him any more. Sure he was bad early on this year. But Rodgers was bad in this game, and it was Larry’s last chance to play. EVER. Therefore, Franklin saw the opportunity to put him in. Right or wrong decision, debatable. But there’s really no point. There’s really no point in saying anything about Larry in this game other than good things. He put in a great deal of service for Vanderbilt, and now his career is over.
As far as the future is concerned, I am confident next year will be much better. Every game was close this year, and talent is now pouring into Vanderbilt football (and pouring out of UT football). It’s tough enough to win a close game. But it’s damn near impossible, knowing your kicker will miss (see: UT game), or with any number of other errors that the elite players coming in in the future will make far less frequently. The current players have done a marvelous job, but they’ll be the first to tell you, the ceiling is going nowhere but up.
I was embarresed for the SEC with that loss, but I will always be a Vandy Fan.
[angry language]
What the hell is that about? Fuck the SEC. Who gives a shit about how anyone in the SEC thinks we are or are not living up to their lofty standards. We don’t owe the SEC a damn thing. And when we start winning bowl games, I will sure as shit not be chanting SEC, SEC, SEC. I cheer for a team, not a conference.
[/angry language]
As for Larry, I don’t know what your complaint is? Larry played better than Jordan and it wasn’t even close. Jordan is better that Larry, but Jordan played like absolute, pure, unadulterated crap all game. If there was another game this season, Jordan should start it, but it was about one game and Larry kept us in it.
Jordan was a head case out there. 26 yds on 4 completions over 14 attempts. He was off from throw #1 on the flea flicker. He was missing receivers by a mile. It didn’t help that he was getting run at by their D-line all game, but part of what made him better than Larry all year was that he was cool under pressure and avoiding sacks. Instead he got the happy feet, he danced all around, he never set his feet in his throws. I remember one throw in particular where he was literally jumping backwards as he threw, almost like a SS trying to turn the double play, and he wasn’t even about to get tackled.
I don’t know why he played so poorly, but whatever it was was clearly affecting him and showed no signs of letting up. How can you be upset with the decision when Larry played better than Jordan anyway?
I don’t know what more Coach Franklin could have done to make you feel like his walk stands up to his talk. You just want a guy who puts his head down and wins games, but CJF’s “selling” is going a long way to winning those games. I for one don’t want a coach making apologies. If we want a coach who believes, why wouldn’t he also expect the fans to believe too?
If anything...
The Big East should be embarrassed that their Co-Champion nearly lost to a 6-6 team. There is no reason to be embarrassed that we lost this game, nor should the SEC be disgraced. If we were the 9-3 team and they the 6-6 team, then you might have a point. As it is, Cincy will finish the year in the Top 25.
That being said, I didn’t see anything from Cincy to suggest that we would not have beaten them with an average – not spectacular – performance from Jordan Rodgers. He had a shit day and we still almost won.
The school and the program needed a salesman. In any industry, if you have presented a crappy product for decades (and everyone knows it), then you need one hell of an Ad campaign to change perceptions. The caveat being that the product sure as hell better improve to match the hype. In CJF’s case, I don’t think there can be any doubt that he has made tremendous improvements to the program, in ways noticeable to those who pay very close attention (like folks on this site), and those who just see the final record, which is still an incredible improvement.
by Pope Vanderbilt on Jan 4, 2012 10:46 AM EST up reply actions
Hey guys
That was a huge Vandy crowd at the Liberty Bowl. That was the big story. Yes we lost because we did not play well. We still have some work to do but believe we are on our way. We just need to get that many people at all home games next year. Plus some. If it takes selling then I am all for it. Go Dores!
This is not getting enough run.
35,000 Vanderbilt fans is probably more than we’ve turned out for a home game since Art Guepe was grousing that “this school wants to be Harvard six days a week and Alabama on Saturday.” Now I’m sure the novelty of a bowl game in easily-drivable range with desirable accommodations and activities didn’t hurt (I doubt we would have pulled as well for a bowl in Birmingham or maybe even in Nashville) but we ought to be able to at least have the majority of our own stadium next year or heads should roll…
"Well, if that ain't a show, I'll kiss your ass." - Gov. Jim Folsom Sr. (D-AL), 1948-52
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Anchor Of Gold
Related FanShots on Anchor Of Gold
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
National Commodore Club
