Vandy

[huskypantz]

I watched about 2 1/2 quarters of the Vandy-Elon game on ESPN3. Vandy was up 21-14 when I shut it off. At that point, Elon had moved the ball very well but had 2 killer TOs - a fumble on the Vandy 30 and a pick-6 on a strange-looking WR screen.

• Larry Smith is still the QB. He is mobile. He can make a nice throw on the run and come back three plays later to throw a duck while sitting in the pocket. I'd be worried about two things - deep balls and his running ability. They ran a play out of the wildcat as well (who doesn't).
• Elon's d-line looked decent again the Vandy o-line. Their o-line is in for a rude awakening.
• They played a few RB's, Stacy stood out the most but nothing to write home about.
• Hard to get much of a feel for their WRs aside from the fact that they could get open against the Elon DBs. They have some speed and the TE Barden is a nice player.
• Elon o-line held their own against the Vandy D-line. This should be another area that we can take advantage of.
• Marve is still a beast in the middle. Guy's got popeye arms.
• The Vandy DB's missed a bunch of tackles. Elon has a nice WR who lit their secondary up, had a sick one-handed catch on a ball thrown behind him. Our WRs should have some good opportunities to showcase their skills.
• This was Franklin's first game as a head coach against a BCS opponent, we'll be coming into the game with an incredible wealth of coaching knowledge on our sideline. This is another area we really need to take advantage of.

The weather looks to be reasonable, high of 79 but with a late kickoff it should be much cooler at gametime. Chance of showers as well - after this weekend, hoping for a lightning-free game.

 

[SAMCRO]

Ya, I caught some of that game too. Hard to get a read on Vandy from it. I think you summed it up pretty nicely. Elon controlled possession and had more yards total, yet Vandy made some big plays when needed to. They scored 14 points in a 16 second span late 2nd quarter, then pulled away scoring 21 in the 4th. You could see they just wore Elon out with their depth. From what i did watch (flipped back and forth a lot) we should win the battles at the LOS on both sides of the ball, which is huge. Marve is a beast though. It is definitely a game we can win, but will be a tougher one than most here were predicting all summer.

 

[BugsyCT]

It's a game we can win at the LOS, but our O has to limit mistakes. First game on the road against a BCS team for our young QB tandem - gonna be quite a test for them. Hopefully they keep their cool and don't force any costly turnovers. I expect the D to hold their own.

 

[uconndogs]

Agree with that wholeheartedly. The key to winning this game will be limiting turnovers, especially with our young QBs. If DJ is healthy and can run between the tackles this should be our game.

 

[huskypantz]

I hate to say this, but this game is won with one of Randy Edsall's special recipe gameplans - bend-but-don't-break D, establish the running game, don't make mistakes, solid special teams.

I'm worried about a few things:

• McEntee throws a few floaters that get picked off by a quick secondary
• Vandy blitzes like crazy and rattle McEntee & co
• We don't contain Smith when he scrambles
• Deep balls thrown against the zone

As others are saying, win the LOS, don't turn the ball over, establish the run = UConn win.