Grading the Vanderbilt football position group that nearly gave Hawaii path to victory

3-3 minutes 8/27/2023 Vanderbilt football survived a scare Saturday against Hawaii. The Commodores (1-0) played sloppy football and were outgained by the Rainbow Warriors (0-1) by nearly 100 yards at FirstBank Stadium, repeatedly getting burned deep in the secondary and struggling to get any pressure on the quarterback. But Vanderbilt made the big plays when it needed to and came away with its second straight season-opening win, 35-28.

AJ Swann played well at quarterback, completing 19 of 30 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns, and the Commodores did not turn the ball over. But they face questions about their defensive prowess and offensive line play heading into their matchup Sept. 2 against Alabama A&M.

Offense: C This game was a tale of two offenses. The passing offense, led Swann, was relatively strong. He was on target with his throws and the receivers made several good plays, led by Will Sheppard.

The problem was the run game. Vanderbilt ran for just 65 yards all game, not including sacks, and Swann was sacked three times for 18 yards. Defense: D- The only thing keeping this from being an F was a few big red zone plays, led by two De'Rickey Wright end zone interceptions and a fourth-down red zone stop.

Vanderbilt made plays when it needed to but the defense was otherwise disastrous as the Rainbow Warriors threw for 351 yards and quarterback Brayden Schager completed 27 of his 34 pass attempts. The run defense was solid, allowing 58 yards (not including sacks). Special teams: A- The one area that was relatively strong was special teams.

Jayden McGowan made a difference with his touchdown off a 97-yard kick return, and Jacob Borcila made all three of his extra point attempts. The one knock was that the Commodores twice failed to down deep punts, leading to touchbacks. Coaching: C Although there weren't any egregious coaching errors, Vanderbilt also should have done much better against Hawaii, and that falls partially on the coaches.

Overall: D Vanderbilt won, so it's not an F, but the Commodores should have performed better. They will need to clean up their sloppy play and get the run game going if they want to beat any SEC teams. .

Aria Gerson
·
Filed 08.27.2023

Latest Player Notes

How a Wisconsin legend got his German protégé into Badgers pro day

Mar 15, 2024 Marlon Werthmann put his life on hold for the opportunity in front of him Friday at the McClain Center.Werthmann ...

Why former Wisconsin football running back Braelon Allen didn't run the 40 at pro day

Mar 15, 2024 Braelon Allen’s sweat covered his shirt and dripped off his beard as he approached a group of reporters Friday.The ...

How can UW recruit its best class ever? It starts with these five prospects

By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter Jedd Fisch has lofty recruiting goals at Washington. He didn’t waste any ...

Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team

Things certainly look fresh for the 2024 college football season, especially on the Texas campus.There’s a new conference ...

College Football Playoff: Conferences solve their differences (for now) and agree on general framework for 2026 and beyond

The FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed on Friday to continue the College Football Playoff beyond the 2025 season, signing ...

Ball security, leadership key as Aztecs look to identify starting quarterback

San Diego State seemingly auditions a new starting quarterback on an annual basis.In the past 12 years, the Aztecs have opened ...

Results and more: A look at what happened at Penn State football’s Pro Day inside Holuba Hall

Most of those at Penn State’s Pro Day Friday were relatively quiet throughout the afternoon’s workouts, but there was one ...

Defense dominates first two weeks of Oregon State spring practice as Beavers ready for 2-week breather

CORVALLIS – Oregon State hit the break of spring practices Saturday, not exactly the midpoint but a good place to assess ...

Dillon Gabriel to have similar input, autonomy as Bo Nix had in Oregon’s offense

Published Mar. 16, 2024, 6:26 p.m.By James CrepeaEUGENE — Dillon Gabriel will have much of the same autonomy as Bo Nix did ...

Two transfers, one underclassman who impressed in Missouri football's spring game

With that, spring camp’s a wrap.Missouri football held its Black & Gold spring game Saturday in front of a healthy crowd ...
See More Player Notes