Commodores Defense Has Room For Improvement in 2020

Ted Roof, a coaching veteran with a bit of a nomadic reputation (11 schools in 25 years), has taken over as the defensive coordinator for the Vanderbilt Commodores and head coach Derek Mason in 2020, and there is hope for better results this time around.

Last season under former coordinator Jason Tarver, the Commodores defense dipped statistically for the second consecutive season, prompting the move replacing him with Roof. However, considering the defensive background of Mason, this trend is somewhat troubling given that between head coach and coordinator, things should have been better on that side of the ball.

This season, Roof, who's career numbers have somewhat mirrored that of the talent he has had on hand, will have a veteran unit at his disposal, including some depth, especially on the defensive line.

That line might well be the strength of this defense, though the secondary last season was statistically the team's strength and should be better this time around.

Here are some numbers on the 2019 defense.

Scoring Defense- 31.8 ppg National Rank 95
Points Per Play- 0.48 ppp National Rank 110
Total Defense- 437 ypg National Rank 110
Yards Per Play- 6.6 ypp National Rank 117
3rd Down Conv- 39.1% National Rank 63
Rush Defense- 209 ypg National Rank 115
Yards Per Carry- 5.3 ypc National Rank 119
Negative Plays- 9% National Rank 67
Explosive Rush Allowed- 8.5 National Rank 113
Pass Defense- 228 ypg National Rank 66
Yards Per Attempt- 8.4 National Rank 117
QB Rating- 152 National Rank 118
Completion %-61.5% National Rank 83
Explosive Pass- 8.2 National Rank 119

As you can see from the numbers, the secondary was indeed the strength, but like the other positions, there remains room for improvement, which is a must for the Commodores in 2020.

The possibility exists for a conference-only schedule, eliminating all non-conference games, meaning Mercer, along with Colorado State, Louisiana Tech, and Kansas State would be removed from the schedule, leaving the Commodores to face the SEC opponents along with their regular west division rivals Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

That schedule would be daunting, and take away the games most prognosticators had Vanderbilt winning. In short, a move by the SEC to a conference only schedule does no favors for the Commodores in 2020.

However, with improvement from the defense and if the offense can settle on a quarterback and some other players step up, there could be some wins to be had in the conference.

That's a big if, and as we all know, nothing is guaranteed, meaning it could be a very long, shortened season for the Commodores.

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven.

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