A breakdown of Vanderbilt's offense in its 38-14 loss to Florida.

What went right

After a few weeks in which Vanderbilt struggled to get Will Sheppard, Jayden McGowan and its other playmakers involved early. Early in Saturday's game it felt as if though there was a change in mentality there, though.

Sheppard caught a slant early to give Vanderbilt its first real gain of yardage, the star receiver then followed that up with an 85-yard touchdown that got the Commodores on the board. Sheppard won his one-on-one there against a highly-regarded corner.

It felt as if offensive coordinator Joey Lynch opened up the playbook a little more for quarterback Ken Seals as he was able to test those one-on-one matchups.

It felt as if Seals made some throws with conviction and largely made good decisions which led to Vanderbilt charting six "big" passing plays just one turnover throughout the afternoon.

Freshman receiver Junior Sherrill was also a bright spot, the freshman caught a 52- yarder to put Vanderbilt in position to score and finished with 64 receiving yards.

What went wrong

Vanderbilt's running game really struggled on Saturday afternoon. Through the first half, the Commodores' leading rusher was sophomore receiver Jayden McGowan who had one carry for 16 yards in the first two quarters.

Lynch's offense just feels like it lacks a complement to its passing game. Whether that be due to offensive line play or backs not gaining yards after contact, it feels like the group has struggled on the ground as much as it has all season.

When Vanderbilt tries to get ahead of the sticks on first down, it feels as if it's always bottled up. When it needs to punch it in near the goal line, it looks like it has to turn to the passing game.

Those short-yardage and goal-line situations were a real struggle for the Commodores, particularly in the first half when they went 1-for-7 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth including a goal-to-go situation.

Vanderbilt's offense largely went quiet throughout the second half and just didn't have enough firepower to stay in this game, which seems to be a theme.

MVP: Will Sheppard

Sheppard had over 100 yards receiving by halftime and sparked the offense with one of the longest touchdown receptions of the Clark Lea era.

The veteran wide receiver showed out early but didn't do a whole lot in the second half and ended with 107 receiving yards.

Grade: D-

Vanderbilt's offense was boarderline failing on Saturday but passed because it could've won with an absolutely exceptional performance by its defense and it only turned it over once.

Lynch's group just felt flat all afternoon with the exception of Sheppard's 85-yard touchdown. Its running game wasn't serviceable and its passing game racked up yardage but couldn't carry the offense, especially in the moments when Vanderbilt needed a score the most.

It's really, really difficult to win that way.