Florida football: Know your enemy – Vanderbilt Commodores

Florida football heads back Gainesville for their first home game in over a month and the final SEC home game of the season against struggling Vanderbilt.

"“There’s an awful lot to still play for. A lot of football left to go play,” Florida football head coach Dan Mullen in his post-game press conference after the Georgia loss, “This is when we see if we have character as a team. That’s what is ahead of us as a team.”"

TV Coverage

12:00 PM ET, ESPN

Play-by-Play: Bob WIschusen
Analyst: Dan Orlovsky
Reporter: Allison Williams

Last 5 Meetings

Overall series: Florida leads 40-10-2
Record in Last 5 Meetings: Florida 5-0

2018 – Florida 37-27
2017 – Florida 38-24
2016 – Florida 13-6
2015 – Florida 9-7
2014 – Florida 34-10

Opponent Summary

Opponent Record: 2-6 overall, 1-4 SEC

Game #1 – L 30-6 vs Georgia

RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn led the Commodores in rushing and receiving with 15 carries for 74 yards and 3 catches for 24 yards. The Bulldogs defense held Vandy to 225 total yards of offense, including 109 passing yards.

Game #2 – L 42-24 at Purdue

QB Riley Neal put up 378 total passing yards on the day, but Vanderbilt gave up 509 yards and five touchdowns through the air.

Game #3 – L 66-38 vs LSU

LSU QB Joe Burrow was 25-34 passing through 398 yards and six touchdowns. The ‘Dores defense was shredded for 599 total yards, however, the Vandy offense took advantage of sloppy play from the Tigers to put up 38 points. Vaughn carried the ball 29 times for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

Game #4 – W 24-18 vs Northern Illinois

After a tough start to the season, Vanderbilt notched their first win against the Huskies in Nashville. Vaughn was once again a key piece for the Commodores offense with 17 carries for 138 yards and one touchdown.

Game #5 – L 31-6 at Ole Miss

Vanderbilt had a road to get back to .500 with games against Ole Miss and UNLV, but the Commodores failed to show. Despite only being up 10-6 at halftime, Ole Miss took off in the second half with three huge touchdown runs: Ole Miss RB Jerrion Ealy broke a 78-yard run,  RB Snoop Conner ran for an 84 yarder, and RB Scottie Phillips ran for a more modest 24-yard score.

Game #6 –L 34-10 vs UNLV

The Rebels from the Mountain West had lost by at least two touchdowns in all of their losses and had only defeated FCS Southern Utah leading up to their October 12 game in Nashville. Vandy scores its 10 points in the first half. The Commodores’ second-half offensive drives resulted in the following: punt, interception, fumble, turnover on downs, turnover on downs, and turnover on downs. This inexplicable loss led to a week of rumors involving head coach Derek Mason’s job status.

Game #7 – W 21-14 vs Missouri

The defense stepped up against Mizzou as Vandy held QB Kelly Bryant to 140 passing yards in a stunning upset. Both teams played combined for 19 total penalties for 192 yards. Vandy QB Mo Hasan saw the bulk of the playing time in this one and RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn had 96 yards on 29 carries with one touchdown. Vandy’s first conference win led to what might be the interview of the year in the SEC.

Game #8 – L 24-7 at South Carolina

Vandy jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter but then proceeded to give up 14 receptions for 139 yards and one touchdown to Carolina WR Bryan Edwards. South Carolina went on a 24-0 run to close the game as the Commodores only managed to gain 189 total yards.

Head Coach

Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason is in his sixth season at Vanderbilt.

There have been bright spots in Mason’s tenure. Three straight wins over in-state rival, Tennessee, and two bowl appearances in the last three seasons are no small accomplishments in Nashville.

There has also been an up-and-down nature to his tenure. The highs have been among the best in recent Vandy football history, but the lows have been painfully low.

Mason was brought into Vanderbilt in 2014 after serving as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator under David Shaw at Stanford. The Cardinal were a consistently great defensive unit during his time in Palo Alto and in 2012, Mason was a finalist for the Broyles Award (top assistant in the nation).

Since taking over for the Commodores, the team has finished no higher than tied for fourth in the SEC East.

Disappointing for other SEC schools outside of Lexington, but this is Vandy…expecting much more than Mason has produced is unrealistic.

Following James Franklin was always going to be a tall task and, even though they have suffered through some offensive struggles in 2019, Vandy should think twice before moving on from Mason.

He may want to rethink the offense in the offseason, but the ‘Dores have gone 6-6, 5-7, and 6-6 in the last three regular seasons.

Calling for Derek Mason’s job is lazy and ignores the facts.

Mason has kept Vandy competitive (again…it’s Vandy) in an era of Saban, where the rich have grown richer, and he has proven capable of building a competitive product at a school where he seems to be a good fit.

A quick refresher from last season: Mullen and Mason had a testy exchange after a second-quarter punt return.

Mason downplayed it after the game:

Offensive Outlook

Key players:

• RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn (RS SR)
• WR Kalija Lipscomb (SR)
• TE Jared Pickney (RS SR)
• LT Devin Cochran (RS JR)
• LG Saige Young (SR)

The offense has experience, but has managed to score more than 21 points just three times in 2019. Seven offensive players have double-digit career starts: TE Jerad Pinkney (35), WR Kalija Lipscomb (29), LT Devin Cochran (26), RG Cole Clemens (20), LG Saige Young (17), RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn (15) and WR Chris Pierce (14).

Quarterback

QB Mo Hasan took over for the season’s original starter QB Riley Neal in Week 7 and had a hand in leading the Commodores their only SEC victory before he was knocked out with a concussion in the third quarter.

Neal regained the role after Hasan was ruled out against South Carolina last week.

Neal is a graduate transfer from Ball State University after 34 career starts. Neal ranks fourth nationally in career passing yards with 8,500 passing yards and 50 touchdowns.

However, Neal is looking unlikely to play against the Gators and Hasan has yet to be cleared for action, which leaves the Vandy quarterback battle between QB Deuce Wallace (RS-JR) and QB Allan Walters.

Wallace has appeared in six games this season going 33-76 for 217 yards passing with three interceptions and no touchdowns.

Walters is a redshirt freshman from Chatham, NJ, who has yet to see the field for the Commodores.

Either way, it appears the Florida defense will be facing inexperienced competition.

Running Back

A new starting quarterback will likely mean an extra dose of RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Vandy’s biggest weapon on offense.

The redshirt senior ranks in the all-time Top-10 for rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, and 100+ rushing games in Vanderbilt football history.

Vaughn is currently averaging 98.8 rushing yards per game, good for third among SEC running backs. He led the team with 176 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns to lead Vanderbilt to a 21-14 upset over Missouri.

According to the Vanderbilt Sports Communications Department, Vaughn has scored on seven touchdowns of 60+ yards since the beginning of the 2018 season, the most among active FBS players.

Vaughn is the top receiving threat out of the backfield in the SEC with 234 receiving yards with 23 receptions and has two receptions of 50+ yards.

The Commodores have fed 151 carries to Vaughn through eight games.

The team’s second-leading rusher, RB Keyon Brooks has only carried the ball 22 times for 121 yards for one touchdown.

RB Ja’Veon Marlow has the third most carries on the team with three attempts on the season.

This is the Ke’Shawn Vaughn show.

Stop Vaughn and the Gators will stop the offense.

Wide-Receiver/Tight End

Much like the running back position, Vandy features a standout wide receiver and tight end, but unlike running back, the Commodores are much deeper at wide receiver.

Vanderbilt returned nearly 85% of the receiving yards from 2018.

WR Kalija Lipscomb is back after sitting out the South Carolina game for “personal reasons.” The senior from New Orleans, LA, leads the team with 32 receptions for 377 yards and two touchdowns.

Lipscomb hauled in 87 catches for 916 yards and nine touchdowns last season.

TE Jared Pickney (RS SR) has 15 receptions for 157 yards and was listed on as a Preseason All-American First Team Tight End by Street & Smith’s and Sporting News.

Pickney has arguably suffered the most from bleak quarterback play in Nashville this season.

Last season, Pickney racked up 50 receptions for 774 yards and seven touchdowns and was awarded the John Mackey Tight End of the Week award twice in 13 games.

WR C.J. Bolar brought in 34 receptions for 440 yards and two touchdowns in 2018, but only has 11 receptions for 79 yards this season.

A four-star prospect, WR Cam Johnson (RS FR), is the team’s third-leading receiver with 20 catches for 231 yards.

WR Justice Shelton-Mosley, an FCS All-American in 2017, only has 12 catches for 83 yards on the season. The Harvard graduate transfer also averages close to 11 yards per punt return on 10 attempts.

WR Chris Pierce has 11 receptions on the year. The 6’4″, 225 LBS junior from Smithfield, VA, had a 75-yard touchdown reception at Purdue.

WR James Bostic (RS SO) from Fort Lauderdale, FL, (Cardinal Gibbons) has eight catches for 69 yards.

Offensive Line

Left Tackle – #77 Devin Cochran (6’7″, 318 LBS, RS JR)

• Third-year starter
• Participated in over 96% of offensive snaps in 2018

Left Guard – #56 Saige Young (6’4″, 305 LBS, SR)

• Third-year starter
• Has started at both left guard and right guard during his time at Vanderbilt

Center – #50 Sean McMoore (6’4″, 292 LBS, RS JR)

• Second-year starter
• Four-start prospect from Kapolei, HI

Right Guard – #74 Cole Clemons (6’6″, 320 LBS, JR)

• Second-year starter
• Started eight games at left guard and four games at right guard last season

Right Tackle – #54 Tyler Steen (6’5″, 305 LBS, RS FR)

• Florida native from Fort Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas)
• Played four games on the defensive line and recorded one tackle at Georgia

Rotation – #73 Jonathan Stewart (6’7″, 326 LBS, RS SO)

• Earned his first collegiate start against LSU at left tackle
• Started at right tackle against Missouri

Defensive Breakdown

Key players:

• DE Dayo Odeyingbo (JR)
• DT  Cameron Tidd (RS JS)
• ILB Dimitri Moore (JR)
• OLB Andre Mintze (RS JR)
• S Dashaun Jerkins (RS FR)
• S Tae Daley

This is a young defensive group. For a third consecutive game, Vanderbilt’s defense did not include a senior starter.

Defensive Line

DE Dayo Odeyingbo (JR) has a team-high six tackles for a loss this season and ranks as Vanderbilt’s active leader with 17 tackles for a loss and six sacks.

DT Drew Birchmeier (RS JR) has 13 tackles on the season. 6’2″, 295 LBS DT Josiah Sa’o (RS JR) will serve as the backup.

DT Cameron Tidd only has one sack, but the redshirt junior is active up front, recording 20 tackles so far. DT Daevion Davis (FR) has seen action in seven games will rotate with Tidd.

DE Rutger Reitmaier has recorded four tackles in a backup role to Odeyinbo.

Linebackers

OLB Andre Mintze (RS JR) has three sacks and 26 tackles on the year. He posted a career outing against Missouri with six tackles, two tackles for a loss, and a sack.

ILB Feleti Afemui (RS SO) is the fifth leading tackler on the defense with 33 tackles.

ILB Dimitri Moore (JR) leads the team with 62 tackles. Moore had his third straight double-digit tackle game at South Carolina with 11 tackles. This was Moore’s fourth career game of 10+ tackles.

OLB Kenny Herbert (RS JR) has 24 total tackles on the season with one sack.

Backups include:

OLB Elijah McAllister (RS FR) is a 6’6″, 263 LBS force that has two sacks on the season.

OLB Lashawn Paulino-Bell (RS SO) has filled in for Mintze with 12 tackles.

ILB Caleb Peart (RS SR) has 16 solo tackles.

ILB Brayden DeVault Smith has 15 total tackles on the season.

Secondary

CB B.J. Anderson (RS FR), CB Cam Watkins (GRAD) has eight tackles after transferring in from Illinois, and CB Elijah Hamilton (RS JR) will all see action on the left side of the field.

The right side of the field will be patrolled by CB Allan George (RS SO). George is the sixth leading tackler on the team with 28 total tackles and one sack. CB Jaylen Mahoney and CB Randall Haynie should plenty of playing time as well.

S Dashaun Jerkins (RS FR) and S Brendon Harris (RS FR) are making noise at safety.

Jerkins is second on the team with 49 total tackles and Harris is in third on the team with 41 total tackles.

S Tae Daley posted 16 total tackles against South Carolina last week, including 12 solo stops. Both set the mark for the team’s highest tackle totals on the year. Daley also posted a double-digit tackle performance against Missouri.

Frank Coppet (JR) is out of the season with a knee injury.

Special Teams

P Harrison Smith (RS FR) earned SEC Special Teams Play of the Week after averaging 43.1 yards on eight punts against Missouri. Three of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.

On the season, Smith has 53 punts for a 44.4-yard average and a long of 66 yards. He has had 20 punts downed inside the 20 with only five touchbacks.

K Ryley Guay (SR) is 7-8 on field goals including 5-6 from beyond 40 yards this season. He has a long of 48 yards and his only miss came from 46 yards out.

K Pierson Cooke (SO) has handled kickoff duties over the last month. Opponents have four returns in 12 kickoff attempts.

No. 10 Florida will take on Vanderbilt at 12:00 PM ET on ESPN.