Vanderbilt Commodores Must Maintain Their Strength vs. Stingy Texas Defense
The Vanderbilt Commodores have shocked a lot of people around the country this year with their surprising competitiveness in big games.
Their success hasn't come from fluke plays though, rather a methodical approach that will be put through the ringer on Saturday against the Texas Longhorns.
In previewing the Top 25 matchup, Pro Football Focus' Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman put a spotlight on one particular way that has led to Commodores playing stellar football: their clock management.
"Vanderbilt has won all five games where it won the time of possession battle. The Commodores have lost the two games where they haven’t. So far this season, they have the 11th-highest average time of possession in the country," said the writers. "The Longhorns should be up for the challenge. In addition to being the highest-graded defense in the country, Texas owns the third-highest defensive grade on late downs, trailing only Notre Dame in EPA per play allowed on third and fourth down."
To anyone that has watched the Vanderbilt offense work this season, they know it comes down to the clutch genes put on display by star quarterback Diego Pavia. He's earned his 'giant slayer' reputation by stepping up when it matters most and pushing the Commodores over the edge.
Pavia can get the job down with both his arm and his legs. While he doesn't break off a ton of long runs, he can easily pick up 10 yards when it matters most. That type of grit is exactly what it takes to win games as an underdog.
He has an adjusted completion rate of 74.5% on third and fourth downs this season.
Despite the rise in skill level of his opponents that he's seen since transferring over from the New Mexico State Aggies, He's actually gotten better since coming to the SEC.
Vanderbilt's 52.1% conversion rate on third downs is good for the seventh in the country. Their fourth down conversion rate actually jumps up to 75%, tied for 13th in the country, thought it's a relatively small sample size at just four attempts.
The problem is that as good as they are at converting, the Longhorns are good at stopping.
Texas has allowed just 30 third down conversion on 104 attempts this season, which is good for 10th in the nation. They rank 45th for fourth downs, but still allow under half of the attempts to be successful.
Vanderbilt's impressive time of possession will be put to the test as they face a defense that is talented at getting teams off the field.
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders