The game took much longer than expected because of weather delays, but in the end, Vanderbilt made too many mistakes as the Commodores lost to Wake Forest, 36-20.

Weather was an issue across much of college football on the East Coast, and it was the same here. In the game, Vanderbilt was looking for its first 3-0 start since 2017, and actually did some good things. However, while the score looks bad, the game was actually more competitive then that.

Here are some takeaways as Clark Lea’s team turns their attention to their final nonconference game at UNLV next Saturday.

Mistakes Doom the Commodores

Vanderbilt did a lot of good things against Wake Forest, but mistakes were devastating in this game. First, there were 2 fumbles by Vanderbilt, one of them being on a punt return that resulted in a touchdown for Wake Forest. That was especially costly because it killed all the momentum Vanderbilt had earned.

Right before that, they went 4 plays for 75 yards and a touchdown to cut the deficit to 17-14. Then, they forced a 3-and-out before fumbling that punt to give the Demon Deacons a double-digit lead.

Still in the 3rd quarter, Vanderbilt once again drove 74 yards to get to the Wake Forest 1-yard line, but was stopped on down to give the ball back to the Demon Deacons.

The Commodores don’t have the margin of error to win road games with these costly mistakes, and they overshadowed some of the really good things the team did.

Rushing defense a big issue for Vanderbilt

One area where the team struggled the entire day was when it came to stopping the run. Wake Forest was able to dominate the line of scrimmage, finished the day with 48 carries for 288 yards.

Both Wake Forest running backs had a big game, as Demond Claiborne rushed for 165 yards while Tate Carney rushed for 117 yards.

The rush defense had been fairly good in the first 2 games, as Vanderbilt allowed 40 and 135 yards in their first two games. However, Wake Forest is a different level of team compared to the first two Vanderbilt opponents.

Receivers provide big-play ability

On offense, Vanderbilt did a nice job of getting big plays in the passing game. Quarterback AJ Swann threw for 314 yards and 3 touchdowns, but also 2 interceptions.

The wide receiving group showed some nice abilities to make plays. Will Sheppard was the go to receiver on the day, as he finished with 8 catches for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, other players such as London Humphreys (4 catches for 109 yards and 1 touchdown) and Jayden McGowan (6 catches for 72 yards) both had big plays of 48 and 50 yards respectively.

When Vanderbilt gets into the conference part of its schedule, getting big plays is going to be imperative for the team. The defenses in the SEC are too good to just try and go sustain double-digit  play drives, so there has to be the ability to make huge plays.

Vanderbilt will be in action next Saturday at 7 p.m. ET at UNLV.