2011 Vanderbilt Commodores Football Predictions, Odds, Picks and Schedule – 2011 Vanderbilt NCAA Football Preview

2011 Vanderbilt Commodores College Football Expert Predictions, Picks, Vegas Odds and Schedule – Vanderbilt NCAA Football Preview: The 2010-11 season was a forgettable one for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Now, new head coach James Franklin is charged with turning around a program that finished with a 2-10 record last year. Franklin immediately raised the hopes of Vanderbilt fans after securing commitments from a pair of four-star recruits, but even with a lot of returning starters and some incoming talent, the Commodores won’t find it easy to move up the ranks in a conference as loaded as the SEC.

It would be one thing if Vanderbilt had shown signs of improving last year, but the reality of the situation is that the Commodores were just plain bad in every facet of the game. Vandy lost seven conference games by at least two touchdowns. In addition, the Commodores scored less than 17 points a game last season and failed to average more than 300 yards of offense. The defense was just as bad, giving up more than 30 points a game and more than 400 yards of offense to opponents.

The play of the offensive line is going to be a major factor in determining whether or not Vanderbilt improves this year, and with all five starters back, there is reason to expect a turnaround. That being said, the unit was abused last season, struggling in both pass-blocking and run-blocking situations. Quarterback Larry Smith desperately needs some protection this season if he is going to improve on his own weaknesses. Smith completed less than 50 percent of his passes last year, and an offense simply won’t function in the SEC with that type of inefficiency.

A potential bright spot for the offense is the return of running back Warren Norman. Before being lost for the season with an arm injury in 2010-11, Norman was averaging more than five yards per carry and had shown the ability to hit the home run. Since the injury wasn’t to his knee or leg, the explosiveness should still be intact.

Eight starters return on defense, but considering how bad the unit was one year ago, that may or may not be a good thing. Strong safety Sean Richardson emerged as the most effective player last season, but when a safety leads a team with nearly 100 tackles, the issues with the front seven are obvious. Vanderbilt ranked last in the conference in terms of rush defense, giving up nearly 200 yards a game on the ground. Sadly, even a dramatic improvement still leaves the Commodores with a sketchy rush defense.

With just two non-conference games to open the year, the Commodores won’t have a lot of time to prepare for SEC play. While they may have a shot in the conference opener against Ole Miss, the next three games at South Carolina, at Alabama and at home against Georgia are all but unwinnable for Vanderbilt. In fact, the Commodores will probably be underdogs in every SEC game this season, and it isn’t out of the question that they fail to notch an SEC win in 2011-12.

Despite having plenty of returning starters and a solid recruiting class, Franklin and company still don’t have the talent to compete for bowl bid this season. In a few years, that may change, but one extra year of experience won’t be enough for this current group to improve on the dismal numbers put up on both side of the ball. It is going to be a very long year for Vanderbilt.

2011 Vanderbilt Commodores College Football Predictions: 4-8 Record

Preseason 2011 Vanderbilt Commodores NCAA Football Odds:
Odds to Win 2012 BCS Championship: NA/Off the Board
Odds to Win 2011 SEC Champonship: +17500
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2011 Vanderbilt Commodores College Football Schedule
Sat, Sep 3 Elon 7:30 pm —
Sat, Sep 10 Connecticut 7:30 pm —
Sat, Sep 17 Mississippi 12:20 pm —
Sat, Sep 24 at South Carolina TBA —
Sat, Oct 8 at Alabama TBA —
Sat, Oct 15 Georgia TBA —
Sat, Oct 22 Army TBA —
Sat, Oct 29 Arkansas TBA —
Sat, Nov 5 at Florida TBA —
Sat, Nov 12 Kentucky TBA —
Sat, Nov 19 at Tennessee TBA —
Sat, Nov 26 at Wake Forest TBA —

Check out NSAwins.com’s official 2011 SEC Football Predictions and Preview article.

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