Nashville, TENN – After a 2-0 start, the Commodores were riding high with momentum heading into this matchup with Georgia State. They were looking for their first 2-0 start since 2017. Diego Pavia had the Vandy faithful believing. Everything felt different, until it didn’t. Similar to last year’s disastrous loss to UNLV in Las Vegas, the Commodores fell at Georgia State 36-32 in Atlanta.
Clark Lea’s defense did not come to play and quite frankly let the team down after taking the lead with just over a minute to play. Here’s how they graded out:
What went right:
Clark Lea’s defense held strong on a few Georgia State possessions to keep them in the ballgame. Early in the 1st quarter, the Commodores’ held Georgia State to a field goal as the Panthers took a 3-0 lead. Then, later in the 1st half, Vandy forced Liam Rickman into a 45-yard field goal that he missed, which gave the Commodores some momentum. Also, Bryan Longwell and Aeneas DiCosmo combined for a sack on Christian Veilleux that stifled a Panthers’ drive in the 1st quarter. Without the effort from the defense in the 1st half, Vandy would’ve been in a much different position heading into the locker room.
With just over two minutes left in the 3rd quarter, Bryan Longwell came up with a huge interception of Christian Veilleux as soon as things looked bleak for the Commodores. That proved to be a huge momentum shift that led to a touchdown to cut the lead to 22-17 heading into the 4th quarter.
Other than that, there weren’t many other positive aspects of this defensive effort in the 2nd half. Mention last drive
What went wrong:
The Commodore defense let Christian Veilleux find a rhythm as he finished 13-20 with 105 yards and a touchdown in the 1st half. Ted Hurst beat Tyson Russell on a go route to give the Panthers a 10-3 lead. There were a few occasions where Vandy failed to get off the field on third down as Veilleux would continue finding open receivers in the middle of the field. The Panthers finished the 1st half 5-9 on third downs, which is unacceptable for Clark Lea.
In the trenches, Georgia State found more success on the ground than I expected coming into the game. Specifically on the interior, the Commodores didn’t seem to get the push they’ve been getting through two games. The Panthers averaged nearly five yards per carry and six yards per play. That’s unacceptable against a Sun Belt team.
Late in the 3rd quarter, Christian Veilleux got loose again. He drove the Panthers down the field and found Laney for a touchdown to give the Panthers a 22-10 lead. The discouraging part was the struggles in the secondary. Kolbey Taylor was beaten a couple of times by Georgia State receivers that kept the drive alive. In addition, Veilleux continued to look comfortable in the pocket as the Commodores failed to get any pressure.
To begin the 4th quarter, CJ Taylor was ejected from the game for targeted, which pre-empted a touchdown run from Christian Veilleux, extending the Georgia State lead to 29-17. All night long, the Commodore defense failed to come up with stops when they needed them.
The worst drive of them all though was the final one. Down by three, Georgia State drove 80 yards down the field in 45 seconds to win the game. Christian Veilleux found Ted Hurst for a touchdown on Kolbey Taylor to cap a dominant offensive drive for the Panthers.
Coming out of this game, there are serious questions whether this defense can hold up in SEC play. With Clark Lea’s experience and reputation as a great defensive mind, this was especially surprising.
Special teams:
Steven Sannieniola made a crucial mistake on a kickoff in the second quarter following the Panthers’ touchdown to take a 10-3 lead. He muffed the kickoff and let the ball cross the goal line into the field of play. He proceeded to step back and take a knee in the endzone which resulted in a safety. That was a brutal mental mistake that led to two points and possession of the football for the Panthers. Sannieniela was back there for the kickoff for the first time all season.
Penalties (again):
Unfortunately for Vandy, Linus Zunk was flagged for unnecessary roughness after a hit that was too high on Veilleux, which continued a Panthers’ drive in the 2nd quarter. To make matters worse, early in the 4th quarter, CJ Taylor was ejected for targeting, which led to a touchdown run from Christian Veilleux to extend the lead to 29-17.
Grade: F
Defensive MVP: Bryan Longwell
The sophomore out of Lipscomb Academy finished with four tackles and an interception, which was a huge momentum shift for the Commodore sideline in the 3rd quarter.
