Behind enemy bylines: Vanderbilt

Before Auburn takes on Vanderbilt on Saturday, The Auburn Plainsman's sports editor, Jacob Waters, sat down with deputy sports editor Anish Mago from The Vanderbilt Hustler to ask some questions about this weekend's contest.

Waters: With seven straight losses, what's been the problem for Vanderbilt over that stretch?

Mago: "I mean, frankly, there hasn't been much that's gone right the entire season. Even if you look at those first two games versus Hawaii and Alabama A&M, they were already kind of some cracks in the structure of the team. The passing offense is something I'm sure we'll get into during the course of this, but the passing offense has pretty much been the one good thing about our team so far. It's been good no matter the quarterback. We've had a bit of a quarterback situation going on, but if we're thinking about issues, it starts with the line of scrimmage on both sides. Our rushing attack is definitely the worst the SEC. We have two running backs: Patrick Smith and Sedrick Alexander we put out, and neither of them have been able to get any traction. We haven't rushed for 100 yards as a team, I think since week one against Alabama A&M. It's really been bleak, and then to pair that, we have one of the worst rush defenses in the conference as well. We've let up an average of I believe, 185 yards on the ground per game since week one. So, since that Alabama A&M game as soon as you started playing Power Five opponents, 185 yards per game rushing. It's been really bad. It's schematic. It's a talent gap. It's just issues everywhere. There have been some moments where it's been a bit better, for example, the game against Georgia. We weren't great defending the run, but we were able to get some traction. But the line of scrimmage issues have really been a big issue thus far, and it's definitely something that's held this team back in every game."

Waters: What is the quarterback situation right now?

Mago: "Yeah, so coming into the season, it was AJ Swanns' team. He was supposed to be the guy. He played pretty shaky football through the first I believe it was five weeks. He got injured in our game against Kentucky, and he also had three picks in that game so we brought in Ken Seals. Ken Seals is a guy who is a senior now. He actually started as a freshman way back when but slowly over time, got relegated to a backup role. But he was QB two coming into the season and he's actually played since that Kentucky game he took over, and he's actually played really good football. Really good is relative, but since he was a freshman, he had a lot of issues turning over the ball and kind of being indecisive in the pocket. He's kind of mitigated a lot of those issues in his senior season which is good for him and Vanderbilt. Pretty steady quarterback play, but then, against Ole Miss that kind of changed. Wasn't really making his reads properly. He was struggling in the pocket, and he got replaced by Walter Taylor, who is definitely a different style of quarterback compared to Seals the big guy. They ran a lot of options with him. In the press conference [Tuesday], Clark Lea was asked about it, and he said that it wasn't due to Ken Seals playing poorly, even though he did, but it was rather because he wanted to inject some sort of energy into the offense, so it is unclear. It was asked in the press conference who would be the starter this week, and Clark Lea didn't want to say but he did allude to the fact that there might be multiple quarterbacks used, I guess, as they try to figure out the best way to kind of get a spark to this offense. So, as it kind of stands right now there's no set quarterback for Saturday's matchup."

Waters: Vanderbilt's last in the SEC in rush defense, meanwhile, Auburn is fourth in the SEC in the SEC. Do you think there's a way that Vanderbilt will be able to stop the run against Auburn?

Mago: "Probably not, realistically. As I kind of mentioned before, it's been very bad. All of our defensive linemen, kind of across the board have been getting erased week in, week out. We do have great linebacker, Kane Patterson, he was the highest graded defender this week in the SEC, played a great game. So, maybe he can make some plays, but overall the rush defense week in, week out as has been dominated, and it's definitely a weakness that is going to be exploited by Auburn's backs."

Waters: We've seen Vanderbilt hang around with a couple good teams this season. What's worked for the Commodores to compete in those games?

Mago: "I would say an explosive passing attack is what has worked. As I kind of alluded to in the start, that's pretty much the main strength of this team. Thinking about specific players, Will Sheppard is third in the SEC in receiving touchdowns, he has eight on the season. He's kind of a do-it-all playmaker who can really make big plays, explosive plays down the field. Jayden McGowan is a second year guy, slot receiver, very electric in the open field and kind of similarly can make plays on the field. The one thing Vanderbilt's been able to hang their hat on this season has been moving the chains through the air, so if Vanderbilt were to stick in this game, I would see it mostly happening from some big plays between hopefully Ken Seals and those two receivers."

Waters: Who are Vanderbilt's top players on offense and defense?

Mago: "Offensively, I would say Will Sheppard is definitely a dangerous player, just talked about him, and then Jayden McGowan as well. Another guy to look out for will be London Humphreys. He is a freshman wide receiver, who's really kind of burst onto the scene. Our wide receiver group is quietly, I think, one of the best in the conference, but again, the production isn't necessarily there to match it, but he's another guy on offense that has been impressive. Defensively, I would definitely say our best player has been CJ Taylor. It is worth noting that Clark Lea said [Tuesday] that he is day-to-day, questionable for the matchup. But, he kind of plays a linebacker/star kind of hybrid role, but on the season he has three sacks, he has two picks, he leads our team in tackles at 52. He's definitely been the guy last two seasons for Vanderbilt on that side of the ball, and then as I kind of mentioned before Langston Patterson has been great. And I would say our cornerback duo of Trudell Berry and Tyson Russell, they just kind of got their first time playing together versus Georgia a couple of weeks back because of some issues we've had there, but they've been solid so far. So those are some guys, on both sides of the ball that I'd look out for him on Saturday."

Waters: Your prediction for the game?

Mago: "I'll go 41-17 Auburn. I just don't that Vanderbilt has any matchup for Auburn's rushing attack, and I think Auburn should be able to control the clock, get big plays on the ground and then probably establish a good play action game after that. So, I'll say 41-17 Auburn."