Three Keys: Vanderbilt vs Utah State

Treat it like Alabama

Vanderbilt will have all types of buzz heading into its matchup with No. 17 Alabama in Tuscaloosa next week, but first it has to handle its business at FirstBank Stadium. 

It’s good enough to take Utah State down by three or four scores if it’s got the proper intensity and focus, but it’s also got to enter Saturday afternoon knowing that if it doesn’t bring it then this one could be dicier than it expects. 

Vanderbilt still has everything that it wants ahead of it, but it’s got to take care of business on Saturday. 

Vanderbilt’s cornerback play needs to be sharp

Utah State’s offense isn’t unlike anything Vanderbilt has seen at this point, but it’s explosive and has enough to give Vanderbilt’s defense some problems if Vanderbilt isn’t sharp enough throughout the afternoon. 

The Aggies’ highest-graded offensive category on Pro Football Focus is their passing game, as a result Vanderbilt’s cornerbacks become all that much more important. 

Martel Hight, in particular, could be an important piece to all of this as he comes off of a game in which he was Vanderbilt’s lowest-graded defensive player with a 37.5 overall mark. He’ll likely be matched up with Braden Pegan or Brody Boyd, both of which have 17 receptions on the season.

Don’t give Utah State the energizing play

Even Vanderbilt’s worst teams were capable of pulling an upset once and awhile if they got the big pick six or long, explosive touchdown to even the playing field a bit. 

Utah State is good enough to hang around if Vanderbilt allows it to hit on a big enough play to change the momentum of the game. It’s got to avoid the big blowup play in order to find a way to win. 

Vanderbilt has generally done a nice job avoiding untimely turnovers and giving up explosive plays, but it will have to do it again on Saturday. If it does, it should move to 5-0.