In what may have been Vanderbilt’s strongest game (it certainly was on defense and rush offense), the Commodores still lost to No. 11 Florida 9-7 Saturday.
Now three consecutive conference games to end the year will determine whether the team finishes with its second consecutive losing season.
A home game against stumbling Kentucky could be exactly what the Commodores need after almost upsetting Florida, but these five will need to play well for Vandy to win Saturday:
1. RT Bailey Granier: Florida DL Alex McCalister won the SEC Player of the Week Award on defense last week with 2.5 sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss, never a good sign for the guy lined up across from him.
#FloridaGators DE 14 Alex McCalister and DL 90 Jonathan Bullard sack vs Vanderbilt #VANDYvsUF https://t.co/qYXhTAevgA
— Kevin (@draftrobot) November 7, 2015
After a rough one against the top team in the SEC East last week, hopefully Granier can get back on track against Kentucky.
2. DL Torey Agee: Injuries and poor play slowed Agee to start the season, but the junior pass rusher looks like he has his first step back with two sacks in his past two games. Kentucky is tied for third in the SEC with 23 sacks allowed. Look for Agee to add to his sack total Saturday.
3. WR Trent Sherfield: After a monster game earlier in the season (16 catches, 240 yards 1 TD vs. Austin Peay) Vandy’s No. 1 wideout has gone consecutive games held without a catch. QB Johnny McCrary’s 3-for-14, 30-yard game obviously didn’t get much production from the wide receivers, but still, Sherfield has to do a better job of getting his hands on the ball.
4. P Tommy Openshaw: Aside from Missouri, no SEC team punts more than Vanderbilt. Combine that with the fact that Kentucky has just 59 punt return yards all season (third fewest in the conference) and Openshaw changing field position be the difference between a win and loss, especially with the offense struggling.
5. LB Darreon Herring: While LB Zach Cunningham remains the star of this linebacking group, Herring must continue his strong play in the middle of the defense if the Commodores hope to survive the return of Stanley “Boom” Williams.
With 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks as an inside linebacker, Herring has been a big reason Vandy has given up just 141 yards to the opposing team’s starting running back over the past three weeks.
