Commodores Battle, But Fall 17-12 to Texas A&M
(College Station, Tx.-) The Vanderbilt Commodores arrived in Texas as a 31.5 point underdog to Texas A&M in both teams 2020 season openers on Saturday night, and while they fell short in the end, they gave the Aggies all they could handle and sacred the daylights our of the 12th Man fans in attendance.
Freshman quarterback Ken Seals, starting his first career game in the first college game of his career, provided plenty of reasons for optimism for Commodore fans as the Texas native finished the night 20 of 29 for 150 yards and one touchdown. He did toss two interceptions but managed the game and had his team in range of the No.10 team in the nation throughout the game.
Head coach Derek Mason praised his freshman signal-caller in his postgame comments.
"You know, I thought Ken, Ken Seals is a mature quarterback, that's why he started today," said Mason. "When you saw him play, he looked like a two or three-year veteran out there. I thought he was cool; I thought he was calm. He was poised, and he never really got to high or got too low."
"I'm proud of him. He's got the maturity of a 26-year-old, but he made a lot of people forget that's he's an 18-year-old freshman," Mason said.
As for Seals, he was asked about his poise and his nerves during the postgame interview.
"Obviously, you walk out there for the first time, and you get a little starstruck," said Seals. "Once I got out there on the field, and I'm still playing the same game that got me here, it's just different guys I'm lining up against, but I'd say once I had my first completion, a little five-yard under route, it was kinda like, all right, you can do this, you're made for this, and so a little bit of confidence comes in and then it starts getting exciting, and the rest takes care of itself."
"But I think starting it out and realizing that I could do it and have confidence in myself, this game was important for me," Seals said.
As a team, the Commodores offense exceeded most expectations entering the contest and finished the night with 255 yards in total offense, rushing for 105 yards and passing for 150, compared to the Aggies. The latter ended the evening with 372 yards in total offense.
Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond completed 17 of 28 attempts for 189 yards and a touchdown. Running back Isaiah Spiller was the biggest offensive weapon for the Aggies, as he turned his eight carries into 117 yards and made big plays at critical times to keep drives alive and helping set up scoring opportunities for his offense.
While Commodore fans have had their share of moral victories over the years, this one might be one that some fans will find acceptable considering how much of an underdog this team was considered entering this game and season.
Indeed, there is a long way to go, but at least after one game, this team gave their fans something to feel good about and placed themselves in a position to win a football game that few, if anyone, gave them a chance of even being close in the end.
The Commodores return to action next Saturday night when they host the defending national champion LSU Tigers in a 6:30 pm kickoff at Vanderbilt Stadium.
