No. 5 Texas vs. No. 25 Vanderbilt: Four matchups to watch

The Longhorns look to rebound against the Commodores in Nashville.

The No. 5 Texas Longhorns take the show on the road this weekend to Nashville to face the No. 25 Vanderbilt Commodores in a ranked showdown that many didn’t have pegged entering the season. Texas looks to rebound after its loss to Georgia last week in Austin needing to take down an extremely plucky opponent in the Clark Lea’s Commodores.

Vanderbilt has long been a doormat program in the SEC, but their 2024 iteration of the team is anything but that. They flat out took it to Alabama earlier this season to give themselves a program changing win and they will now try to take down another top-five opponent in the Longhorns this week.

The Commodores won’t be sneaking up on anyone this week with how their season has played out and with the Longhorns having the taste of blood in their mouth. Let’s take a look at some of the key matchups for this week’s game.

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Quinn Ewers vs. Vanderbilt’s defense

Ewers is in need of a big rebound game after struggling considerably against Georgia last week. Fortunately for Ewers, nobody left on the schedule will be able present the same issues defensively like the Bulldogs did last week in Austin from a personnel standpoint.

Lea will certainly try to throw some of same looks that Kirby Smart and Glenn Schumann did, but he won’t have guys like Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams screaming off his defense’s edges. The Commodore defense ranks 68th in passing yards allowed and is 40th in total defense. Certainly improved by Vanderbilt’s standards from years past, but they’ve allowed 27 points to Virginia Tech, 36 points to Georgia State in a loss, 30 to Missouri, and 35 to Alabama. They can certainly be had and Ewers playing confident and calm will be the key.

If Ewers starts slow and displays some of the same issues we’ve seen in recent weeks then Texas is going to find itself in a rock fight with a team that is looking for another top five upset.

Vanderbilt loves to play keep away with the football offensively, so the Texas signal caller will need to keep the Longhorns offense ahead of the chains and be sure to convert on opportunities in the red zone when they present themselves.

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Texas’ offensive line vs. Vanderbilt’s defensive front

Similar situation for the Texas offensive line like with Ewers in the previous section. They had their roughest outing by far last week against the Georgia defensive front and will have to play a much better game against a Vanderbilt defense that will likely try to duplicate the same game plan to bust their protections.

Left tackle Kelvin Banks fared better than I thought watching live, but it was still a legit dogfight for him from snap to snap.

Communication, execution, and cohesion will have to be much improved this week for Kyle Flood’s bunch in Nashville. The best possible way for Ewers to have a bounce back game on the road this week is to make sure he has time to execute the offense from the pocket and not feel as sped up like he did last week.

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The Texas wide receivers vs. Vanderbilt’s secondary

Texas’ depth at wide receiver is going to be tested this week in Nashville, as Isaiah Bond was downgraded to doubtful for the matchup and then ruled out on Friday evening. Bond had an early exit against Oklahoma and was ineffective last week against against Georgia despite grabbing a touchdown and a two point conversion in the second half.

With Bond out, Inside Texas has reported that true freshman wide receiver Ryan Wingo is slated to get his first collegiate start on the road in Nashville.

Wingo is fourth on the team in receiving yards with 308 and leads the team in yards per catch at 19.3. Wingo has been a big play waiting to happen every time he touches the ball, and now he will have a chance to get a full load of snaps against the Commodores on Saturday.

Texas will trot out Wingo, Matthew Golden, DeAndre Moore Jr., and Gunnar Helm as their top receiving options and it will need to be a group effort as usual. Vanderbilt is ranked 52nd in scoring defense (22.1 points per game) and is ranked 68th in passing yards allowed (215.1 yards per game).

There will be opportunities for the Texas receiving group as a whole, but they will need to make the most of those opportunities when they are presented to them.

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Diego Pavia vs. Texas’ defense

Diego Pavia is a lot of fun to watch and is easy to root for as long as he isn’t on opposing the team. He’s a former high school state wrestling champion who didn’t get a single FBS football offer out of high school. He went the JUCO route and led New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) to a national championship in 2021 before eventually landing at New Mexico State where he led the Aggies to a 10-win season and their first-ever victory over an SEC opponent at Auburn.

He’s confident, plays fearless, and he takes care of the football. He has only tossed one interception on the year with 154 pass attempts on the books, so he hasn’t been reckless with the football. He is a threat with his feet and isn’t shy about pulling the ball down to run with it. His decision making at the helm of Vandy’s offense has led the Commodores to being 11th in the country in time of possession, as they specialize in paper cutting defenses to death and shortening the game.

Their style of play was on full display against Alabama, where they were 12-of-18 on third-down conversions with 26 first downs on the night. They didn’t turn the ball over and sat on the ball for 42:08. Texas can’t allow them to get comfortable on offense and has to get off the field consistently when they get them into third-down situations. Vandy’s offensive style requires good eyes and discipline much like any other triple option attack you will see across college football. Best way to limit them is to keep them behind the sticks by inflicting negative plays and making them become more dependent on the pass.

You know Pavia is chomping at the bit to add another notch in his belt in the form of the Longhorns. Texas will have to show up ready to play from the jump because Pavia and Vanderbilt most certainly will be.