Vanderbilt Commodores Out of Top 25 After Blowout Loss at Home
It was a run from the Vanderbilt Commodores that this generation has never seen before, beating the number one ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, taking the Missouri Tigers to overtime, and hanging on with the Texas Longhorns until the last seconds of the contest.
The run may now be over, however, after the Commodores' 28-7 blowout loss at home to the South Carolina Gamecocks with a schedule that does not get any easier down the stretch, containing matchups with the LSU Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers.
The loss saw Vandy fall out of the AP top 25, and the Coach's top 25, failing to garner any votes in either poll.
It also saw Vanderbilt fall out of another top 25, as Chris Vannini of The Athletic released his weekly college football power rankings Monday morning, with the team ranked 29th after being 24th in last week's iteration.
Saturday's matchup lived up to the "defensive showcase" hype through the first half, with only one touchdown coming from either side and not until the second quarter.
The Gamecocks would run away with it in the second half, however, pushing their lead to 14-0 early out of the locker room, before the Commodores would answer with a touchdown of their own, though it would be the only one of the day for the team.
While quarterback Diego Pavia's ground attack would prove to be as advertised, rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts, his off-field distractions led to a poor showing through the air, throwing for only 166 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions on 16 of 31 passing.
The quarterback also lost a fumble in the contest, 12 yards away from scoring at the end of the first quarter, and the turnover led to South Carolina's first touchdown of the game.
Vandy's defense did not perform as advertised, either, allowing the Game Cocks to tally 452 total yards, with 238 coming through the air and 214 coming on the ground, while only forcing one turnover on a fumble recovery of their own that set the offense up nicely to take an early lead before Pavia fumbled it away.
It was a poor showing from Vanderbilt, with only the loss to the 2-7 Georgia State Panthers being worse, though not something that we have been used to seeing from the program this year.
Next up on the docket is a pissed-off LSU team who just saw their playoff chances dwindle with their loss to the Crimson Tide, and that does not bode well for the Commodores.
