- I'd first like to point out that I was impressed with the fan turnout for Wake Forest in the rain. The crowd was trying to get into it especially early and was a decent atmosphere. With the rain, I was expecting the worst.
- As for the offense, there's no way to get around it, as we all know Mike Wright had a bad day. With the rain, I knew it was going to be a struggle in the passing game to start. The most disappointing part to me was the lack of runs from Mike Wright. I thought he definitely gave the ball on some pull reads. We all know Wright has accuracy issues and is limited in that area. Wright's strength is his legs, and he needs to play to that strength. Yes, Wake accounted for him in the run game, but there were times that he could have pulled the ball and ran. He seemed jittery especially after the big hit. It looked like he was trying to avoid another hit. He can't do that and be successful. Also, he's got to take some shots to either Sheppard or McGowan. The safeties are playing 'option' for the most part with one on one match ups on the outside. He's got to get the ball just in the area of Sheppard and let him do the rest. Wright's shown this ability with the shot play to McGowan against Elon.
- Also for the offense, they need to get Hernandez back. That's nothing against Castillo, but I think he is better suited at guard. As for the running backs, I've felt bad for Davis playing as much as he has the past two games. That's tough and a lot of wear and tear. I like Gillespie, but it is obvious that they don't fully trust him just yet. They need Rocko Griffin and Patrick Smith to return. Multiple running backs allows the offense to play two backs at the same time, which is a plus in the option looks and playaction off of those. I really liked that wrinkle in the Hawaii game, but we haven't seen much of that since due to the lack of running backs.
- As for the defense, I thought they played well for the most part. Wake Forest was solid up front on offense, and Vanderbilt held their own at times. I know the talk on here is getting the defensive line healthy as well as bringing in bigger bodies for the future. Well, Yilanan Ouattara definitely passes the look test. His body screams SEC defensive tackle. I've liked what I've seen from the other young defensive lineman. With the limitations up front defensively, I thought they played well. Offense left them on the field quite a bit and gave Wake some good starting field position. One guy that really stood out defensively to me was transfer Jeremy Lucien. I thought he played well. He gave up the one deep ball and got the defensive PI, but that was pretty much it in the air all day. He showed consistently in the run game as well. I'm a big fan of them adding speed to that side of the ball.
- Now on to Northern Illinois. I've seen several people say they would start Swann this weekend, but I just don't think it is time for that just yet. I could definitely see them spot playing him at times, but I doubt they hand the keys to the car to the true freshman. The staff has been fully supportive of Wright, and I don't think they bench him after one bad performance. That likely wouldn't send a good message to the team. Also if you do that, then you better start benching every other guy that plays one bad game. That isn't going to happen. It's sports, and sometimes players don't play well.
- Vanderbilt's 2-1 on the season and have a chance to start 3-1. After the past three seasons, this is definitely the best football that we've seen out of a Vanderbilt team in a bit, which is saying something about what Lea walked into. I like the talent of the young guys, but we all know the talent isn't there just yet.
- As for the offense, there's no way to get around it, as we all know Mike Wright had a bad day. With the rain, I knew it was going to be a struggle in the passing game to start. The most disappointing part to me was the lack of runs from Mike Wright. I thought he definitely gave the ball on some pull reads. We all know Wright has accuracy issues and is limited in that area. Wright's strength is his legs, and he needs to play to that strength. Yes, Wake accounted for him in the run game, but there were times that he could have pulled the ball and ran. He seemed jittery especially after the big hit. It looked like he was trying to avoid another hit. He can't do that and be successful. Also, he's got to take some shots to either Sheppard or McGowan. The safeties are playing 'option' for the most part with one on one match ups on the outside. He's got to get the ball just in the area of Sheppard and let him do the rest. Wright's shown this ability with the shot play to McGowan against Elon.
- Also for the offense, they need to get Hernandez back. That's nothing against Castillo, but I think he is better suited at guard. As for the running backs, I've felt bad for Davis playing as much as he has the past two games. That's tough and a lot of wear and tear. I like Gillespie, but it is obvious that they don't fully trust him just yet. They need Rocko Griffin and Patrick Smith to return. Multiple running backs allows the offense to play two backs at the same time, which is a plus in the option looks and playaction off of those. I really liked that wrinkle in the Hawaii game, but we haven't seen much of that since due to the lack of running backs.
- As for the defense, I thought they played well for the most part. Wake Forest was solid up front on offense, and Vanderbilt held their own at times. I know the talk on here is getting the defensive line healthy as well as bringing in bigger bodies for the future. Well, Yilanan Ouattara definitely passes the look test. His body screams SEC defensive tackle. I've liked what I've seen from the other young defensive lineman. With the limitations up front defensively, I thought they played well. Offense left them on the field quite a bit and gave Wake some good starting field position. One guy that really stood out defensively to me was transfer Jeremy Lucien. I thought he played well. He gave up the one deep ball and got the defensive PI, but that was pretty much it in the air all day. He showed consistently in the run game as well. I'm a big fan of them adding speed to that side of the ball.
- Now on to Northern Illinois. I've seen several people say they would start Swann this weekend, but I just don't think it is time for that just yet. I could definitely see them spot playing him at times, but I doubt they hand the keys to the car to the true freshman. The staff has been fully supportive of Wright, and I don't think they bench him after one bad performance. That likely wouldn't send a good message to the team. Also if you do that, then you better start benching every other guy that plays one bad game. That isn't going to happen. It's sports, and sometimes players don't play well.
- Vanderbilt's 2-1 on the season and have a chance to start 3-1. After the past three seasons, this is definitely the best football that we've seen out of a Vanderbilt team in a bit, which is saying something about what Lea walked into. I like the talent of the young guys, but we all know the talent isn't there just yet.
