Anchor Drop, November 5, 2023: Eight straight

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

Vanderbilt lost 31-15 to Auburn yesterday for its eighth straight loss, and thankfully (a) there are only two games of this season left and (b) basketball season starts on Tuesday night. Honestly not a lot to say at this point, but I don’t really think Auburn was an unbeatable team or anything. It just doesn’t help when this is (paraphrasing) the coaching staff’s thought process.

(Note that this isn’t a verbatim quote. Aria later clarified that Lea said “it’s a call that’s meant to play for the next possession.)

The play in question was when Vanderbilt had a 3rd and 20 at the Auburn 45. The coaching staff called a dive play that got about two yards, then Matt Hayball punted — and did manage to pin Auburn at its own 1, and Bryce Cowan jumped a route and got a pick six a couple of plays later. But a lot of my positivity about Clark Lea even when the team was going 2-10 in his first year came from him being aggressive on fourth down, and if I’d known two years later he’d be taking the Derek Mason approach of “let’s just try to pin them deep” then I probably wouldn’t have been. Even if you thought throwing the ball downfield in that situation was too risky, at the very least they could have tried to get a field goal out of it.

This sequence certainly isn’t why Vanderbilt lost — this, after all, ended up with Vanderbilt scoring a touchdown. But did anyone else feel like they didn’t open up the playbook until it was already 31-7?

Anyway, next up is a trip to 3-7 South Carolina. Given the history of that series, well, I’m not holding out much hope.

Sports on TV

All times Central.

• 8:30 AM: NFL: Dolphins at Chiefs (NFL Network)
• 12:00 PM: NFL: Regional coverage (FOX/CBS)
• 2:00 PM: PGA Tour: World Wide Technology Championship, Final Round (Golf Channel)
• 6:00 PM: NHL: Devils at Blackhawks (NHL Network)
• 7:20 PM: NFL: Bills at Bengals (NBC)

Scoreboard

SEC Football: Ole Miss 38, Texas A&M 35 ... Tennessee 59, UConn 3 ... Arkansas 39, Florida 36 ... South Carolina 38, Jacksonville State 28 ... Georgia 30, Missouri 21 ... Kentucky 24, Mississippi State 3 ... Alabama 42, LSU 28.

NBA: 76ers 112, Suns 100 ... Hornets 125, Pacers 124 ... Magic 120, Lakers 101 ... Hawks 123, Pelicans 106 ... Celtics 124, Nets 114 ... Rockets 107, Kings 89 ... Timberwolves 123, Jazz 95 ... Nuggets 123, Bulls 101.

NHL: Predators 5, Oilers 2 ... Jets 5, Coyotes 3 ... Sabres 6, Maple Leafs 4 ... Lightning 6, Senators 4 ... Red Wings 5, Bruins 4 ... Capitals 2, Blue Jackets 1 ... Blues 6, Canadiens 3 ... Kings 5, Flyers 0 ... Hurricanes 4, Islanders 3 ... Blackhawks 5, Panthers 2 ... Wild 5, Rangers 4 ... Canucks 2, Stars 0 ... Golden Knights 7, Avalanche 0 ... Penguins 10, Sharks 2 ... Flames 6, Kraken 3.

SEC Football Standings

East

• Georgia (6-0, 9-0)
• Missouri (3-2, 7-2)
• Tennessee (3-2, 7-2)
• Kentucky (3-3, 6-3)
• Florida (3-3, 5-4)
• South Carolina (1-5, 3-6)
• Vanderbilt (0-6, 2-8)

West

• Alabama (6-0, 8-1)
• Ole Miss (5-1, 8-1)
• LSU (4-2, 6-3)
• Texas A&M (3-3, 5-4)
• Auburn (2-4, 5-4)
• Mississippi State (1-5, 4-5)
• Arkansas (1-5, 3-6)