Texas Longhorns Head Coach Says Vanderbilt Commodores Present Huge Challenge
The Vanderbilt Commodores are getting ready for what arguably could be seen as one of the biggest games in program history, ranked for the first time since 2008 and hosting one of the best teams in the country in the Texas Longhorns.
Since the earth-shattering victory over Alabama three weeks ago, the Commodores have picked up two more wins including an impressive road showing over Kentucky and a close home victory over Ball State. Given that the Crimson Tide has shown its hand in terms of maybe not being the team they were billed up to be, the Longhorns present a different level of challenge than what Vanderbilt has faced up to this point.
Previously ranked No. 1, Texas lost to Georgia at home last week in a game that was largely dominated by the Bulldogs, and now the Longhorns arrive to Nashville with the goal of getting right at the top of their minds. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke to media this week and addressed the challenge of playing against the Commodores.
"It's a heck of a challenge on the field, but it's obviously a challenge for us off the field too, from a mentality standpoint, coming off of the loss to Georgia last week," Sarkisian said on the road trip to Nashville. "I think that when you're playing a team like Vanderbilt, who is very efficient, can control the ball, can extend drives on third downs, things of that nature, it's not counting the plays or the possessions, it's making the plays and making the possessions count...I think they do a heck of a job of having a good plan coming into games, of getting the lead and then playing to that lead and trying to shrink the game some, and it's a formula for success."
Vanderbilt is ironically the only team in the SEC that has historically dominated Texas, winning 8 of the 12 matchups and losing just three times with one tie on the record books. Unfortunately for the Commodores however, that history may not mean a whole lot given the fact that the two schools have not played against each other since 1928.
Everything kicks off from Nashville on the SEC Network at 4:15 p.m. EST (3:15 CST) as Vanderbilt will try to shock the nation once again and pull off the massive upset which would vault the Commodores from fun underdog story to legitimate playoff contenders.
