The Vanderbilt Commodores are searching for their first bowl appearance since 2018 and their first winning season since 2013, back when James Franklin was their head coach. It has been a rough stretch for the Commodores, but there has been some optimism behind this group that they have right now. Clark Lea helped them to five wins last season and there are some signs that Vanderbilt football might be on the up. Here is the preview for the 2023 Vanderbilt Commodores.
Offense
QB AJ Swann took over last year as a true freshman and showed some serious upside that Vanderbilt fans haven’t seen since the likes of Jay Cutler. In his nine games he appeared in last season, Swann threw for 1,274 passing yards to go along with 10 passing touchdowns to 2 interceptions. He also only completed 58% of his passes, so he has to refine his decision-making just a little bit. However, Swann does have the weapons to help him have a successful sophomore campaign. His top receivers coming back from last year are Will Sheppard, Jayden McGowan, and Quincy Skinner Jr. The trio combined for 1,467 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns last year. If Swann wants to take that step forward, these three are going to be a big reason why.
At the running back and tight end position, the Commodores are in a completely different spot than they were a season ago. Losing their leading rusher is never easy to replace. However, freshman running back Sedrick Alexander looks like the real deal. Alexander can step right in and help make an impact for the Commodores offense. Their offensive line won’t overpower you, however they have at least 70 starts of experience on the offensive line which helps. They struggled in the pass protection game last season, but they didn’t allow a ton of sacks and barely committed penalties. This offensive line is going to need to be big time if the Commodores want to take that next step.
Defense
No defense struggled worse against the pass in the SEC than Vanderbilt. Their secondary isn’t a good group. They have the upperclassmen experience, but we have seen what they have and it isn’t great. Unless one of their redshirt freshmen takes a leap, this secondary group will struggle yet again. The only good thing for the Commodores is that veteran safeties Jaylen Mahoney and De’Rickey Wright are back. They can only do so much though, as somebody at the cornerback position is going to need to step up in a huge way if Vanderbilt wants to improve defensively.
In the front six of the Vanderbilt defense, they have a couple of young prospects that could breakout in 2023. Last year, true freshman defensive end Darren Agu had to fill in for Vanderbilt’s top pass rusher from a season ago and played pretty well. Now in year number two, he is poised to have a big breakout campaign for Vanderbilt. At the linebacker position, Kane Patterson takes over at inside linebacker for Anfernee Orji who was an undrafted free agent that got signed by the New Orleans Saints. Patterson will need to show a good leadership quality to help this Vanderbilt defense. A name to keep in eye on is Bryce Cowan, a raw, talented linebacker that could be one of the best Vanderbilt has had since Zach Cunningham. This Vanderbilt defense needs a leader to step up, and if they can get one of them to do so, they could be in for a better 2023 season.
Win Total Bet
The win total is set at 3.5 on the FanDuel Sportsbook. The over is set at -170 odds and the under is set at +138 odds. I think Vanderbilt easily wins four games this year. Coming off a season where you won five, and to have the win total set at 3.5, is a joke. The odds are too high for my liking. However, I am curious to see how the first full year of AJ Swann at Vanderbilt plays out this year.
Schedule Predictions
Win vs Hawaii (1-0)
Win vs Alabama A&M (2-0)
Loss at Wake Forest (2-1)
Win at UNLV (3-1)
Win vs Kentucky (4-1)
Loss at Missouri (4-2)
Close Loss at Florida (4-3)
Blowout Loss vs Georgia (4-4)
Loss at Ole Miss (4-5)
Loss vs Auburn (4-6)
Heartbreaking Loss at South Carolina (4-7)
Loss at Tennessee (4-8)