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Winless Vanderbilt is a 17-point favorite over Massachusetts on Saturday. What does that say about the Minutemen? Let’s take a look inside some of the numbers.
THE GOOD
2: Number of sacks by Caleb Azubike in his first start of the season last week against Ole Miss. Part of a five-player rotation at defensive end as a sophomore, Azubike’s developed into a starter at linebacker in Derek Mason’s 3-4 oft-blitzing scheme.
5.2: Yards per carry average from Ralph Webb, the temporary (perhaps not) replacement for Jerron Seymour while the Commodores’ 2013 leading touchdown-producer remains on the mend. Despite Webb’s early success, Vanderbilt hasn’t scored a touchdown on offense this season.
44.4: Colby Cooke, Vanderbilt’s punter, has earned praise from coaches for averaging 44.4 yards per boot this season. The sophomore’s tied for the league-high with 14 punts and has tallied 622 total yards in field position for the Commodores in two starts. Naming the punter as the bright spot isn’t ideal, but Cooke’s done a great job for a struggling offense.
THE BAD
222.5: Total yards of offense per game posted by the Commodores through two games, third-lowest in the country out of 127 FBS teams. Plagued by spotty quarterback play and inexperience at the wide receiver position, Karl Dorrell’s unit averages 176.5 yards fewer than the SEC’s 13th-most proficient offense in Knoxville.
5: SEC-high in sacks allowed, a bad sign as the Commodores move forward without a reliable passer.
8: Indicative of bad teams, turnover margin’s often a telling stat. Vanderbilt’s eight total giveaways — including seven in the opener against Temple — is tied for the FBS lead with SMU.
