Strong Vanderbilt defense has slowed top-15 offenses
Vanderbilt has been tested by more high-scoring offenses than any top-tier defense in college football, and that challenge will grow at No. 18 Houston on Saturday.
After this weekend, there will have been four games this season where a top-15 scoring offense has faced a top-15 scoring defense, according to the current rankings. Vanderbilt will have been in three of those contests.
“Why would we ever want to play anybody else but the best?” safety Oren Burks said.
Vanderbilt, tied for 13th in scoring defense (16.3 ppg), played Western Kentucky and Ole Miss, which are tied for ninth in scoring offense at 41 points per game. On Saturday (6 p.m./ESPN2), the Commodores (3-4) will face Houston (7-0), the fourth-highest scoring team in the nation (47.6 ppg).
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“We play the game for the challenges,” coach Derek Mason said. “The pressure is on Houston. They are No. 18. We are Vanderbilt, and we are slowly but surely trying to claw our way to relevancy.
“… The spotlight is going to be on them. It is an SEC opponent, so I’m sure for them that’s added value. But sometimes you’ve got to be careful what you ask for.”
The only other game between a top-15 scoring offense and a top-15 scoring defense was Ole Miss against Alabama (No. 15 in defense) on Sept. 19.
Statistical rankings fluctuate each week. Part of staying among the stingiest defenses in college football is weathering games against the best offenses, and that’s where the Commodores have made their mark.
Vanderbilt has held all seven opponents under their season scoring average, including four by double-digit margins.
Western Kentucky scored a season-low 14 against Vanderbilt, 27 points below the Hilltoppers’ 41-point average. Ole Miss scored 27, which is 14 below its average.
MTSU averages 34.6 points, but it posted only 14 points against Vanderbilt. And Missouri’s season-low three points was well below its 14.9-point average.
“We try to keep every team below their averages in points, rushing, passing, everything,” linebacker Stephen Weatherly said. “If we can play great defense against great offense, we know we’ll have an opportunity to win.”
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But stingy defenses don’t necessarily beat explosive offenses. There have been 21 head-to-head meetings this season between top-25 scoring offenses and top-25 scoring defenses, and the offense posted a 13-8 record.
The fact that Vanderbilt is the only top-tier defense to face multiple top-15 offenses provides a proving ground for the Commodores.
“We love that challenge,” Burks said. “We know we are one of the best defenses in the country, and the only way to prove that is by going against the best offenses in the country.”
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Mason’s unit is ranked third nationally in third-down defense, fifth in red-zone defense, tied for 10th in fewest first downs allowed, 16th in rushing defense and 22nd in total defense.
“Challenge is an understatement,” Houston coach Tom Herman said of Vanderbilt’s defensive rankings. “They are really good.”
Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
BEST VS. BEST
Top-15 scoring offenses vs. Top-15 scoring defenses.
Western Kentucky 14*, Vanderbilt 12 (Sept. 3)
Ole Miss 43*, Alabama 37 (Sept. 19)
Ole Miss 27*, Vanderbilt 16 (Sept. 26)
Vanderbilt at Houston* (Saturday)
*Top-15 offense
NEXT GAME
VANDERBILT (3-4) at NO. 18 HOUSTON (7-0)
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
TV/radio: ESPN2/1510-AM, 95.9 FM