Tag: Vanderbilt

LSU vs. Vanderbilt: how to watch

Here’s some information about how you can catch the upcoming LSU-Vanderbilt game, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CST on Saturday.

Coming off a 44-34 home loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in a season-opener that shocked many, the LSU Tigers (0-1) will look to get back on the right track as they hit the road to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (0-1).

The Commodores seem to be a stronger team than we’ve seen in the past, coming within just five points of quarterback Kellen Mond and the Texas A&M Aggies last week.

This should be a game the Tigers can use to get their feet back under them as they look to work out some issues that clearly need addressing after Saturday’s performance in Death Valley.

Here’s some information about how you can catch the upcoming game, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CST on Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee:

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TV channel: SEC Network

Live stream: Fubo TV

Location: Vanderbilt Stadium

Weather forecast: Partly cloudy, 63 degrees

Point spread: LSU, (-20.5)

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Pelicans 2020 NBA Draft Roundup: New Orleans eyeing another big man prospect?

The New Orleans Pelicans’ need for wing depth is well-documented, but the team could target a young big man prospect, too.

As Pelican fans continue to look at the 2020 NBA Draft, the focus of the franchise, as has been mentioned often, will likely be on shooting and wing depth. The Pelicans lacked in both of those areas, leading to the team giving extended minutes to players either out of position (Josh Hart) or players who likely should not be heavily featured (E’Twaun Moore).

As noted in earlier mock drafts, most projections see the Pelicans taking any  number of 3&D options but that’s not the only area of need for the team moving forward.

Yahoo Sports’ latest mock draft has the Pelicans taking one of those wings in Aaron Nesmith of Vanderbilt, a sharp-shooter who battled injuries last season. Here is Raphielle Johnson’s take on New Orleans drafting Nesmith.

“The Pelicans don’t lack for perimeter talent, but given the team’s placement in this draft and the available talent it’s likely that David Griffin will be adding another to the mix. There are some who believe that Nesmith is the best shooter in this draft class, and he’d fit in will with a team that ranked in the top ten in 3-point attempts, makes and percentage. How much playing time would be available to Nesmith in this scenario largely depends upon what happens in free agency, as both Brandon Ingram and E’Twaun Moore will be unrestricted free agents.”

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor, though, had the Pelicans going in a different route by selecting big Jalen Smith of Maryland in his latest mock draft.

“Smith is receiving interest from teams in the mid-first round, according to league sources. He makes far too much sense for the Pelicans; he’s a big who can space the floor with shooting off movement like screens and handoffs. The Pelicans will need a big like Smith next to an interior player like Zion Williamson. Smith needs to make strides on defense, but maybe an NBA program can help him become less stiff and more pliable.”

Last season, Smith averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while still shooting 36.8% from range. As O’Connor notes, he would also fill a hole long-term for the Pelicans alongside Williamson. While Nicolo Melli filled that hole mostly this season as a spacing big man, he did it with very mixed results. Smith could provide potentially more stability moving forward and also would represent a player on the same timeline as much of the rest of the young core, which Melli is not.

The amount of draft picks the Pelicans have in the coming years affords them some wiggle room with their draft picks and allows them to potentially take a risk on a pick or take a home run swing. No matter what direction the Pelicans go with their lottery pick, the future is set up nicely for the franchise.

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Gators News: August 26, 2020

Welcome to a humpday edition of Gators News in which we find ourselves exactly one month away from the opener of the SEC 2020 football 2020.

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Welcome to a humpday edition of Gators News in which we find ourselves exactly one month away from the opening game of the Southeastern Conference’s 2020 fall football schedule amidst the novel coronavirus epidemic.

At the top of the news, USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken talks about how college presidents hold fate of football season in their hands. Says professor emeritus of epidemiology and biostatistics at South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health Harris Pastides, “It’s always lonely at the top.”

Here in the SEC, Vanderbilt football resumes practices after a five-day pause due to positive COVID-19 tests. On Wednesday morning, coach Derek Mason tweeted, “Workout Wednesday has begun … 5:45 a.m. weights – Done! Class work to grass work … we’re back.”

In other coronavirus news, The Oklahoman’s Jenni Carlson discusses how Oklahoma football a walked tight rope that all of college football might soon face due to COVID-19. To understand the high-wire act that is college football, listen to what Lincoln Riley had to deal with last week.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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LSU, UGA stand in way of Florida Gators’ path to 2020 SEC football glory

The full football schedule for the SEC this fall was announced Monday night on a live broadcast by the SEC Network.

The full football schedule for the SEC this fall was announced Monday night on a live broadcast by the SEC Network.

Earlier in the day, the league released the full first-week schedule, including UF’s season opener on Sep. 26, when the Gators will travel to Oxford, Ms., for the first time since 2007.

Among the highlights of Florida’s full schedule is a Week 3 road match in College Station against Texas A&M followed by a home fixture the following weekend against defending national champion LSU.

Additionally, the Gators won’t be playing Georgia on Halloween weekend as they usually do. Both teams are on a bye that weekend, and they will compete at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville the following weekend on Nov. 7.

One of the changes made to the format of the schedule to accommodate the added two games is the extension of the regular season to the first weekend of December. Though in-state rivalry games, such as the Iron and Egg Bowls, will still take place on Thanksgiving weekend, those matchups will not conclude the regular season for those schools.

On Dec. 5, the Gators travel to Knoxville, Tn., to complete the regular season against Tennessee. It will be the first time Florida has played the Volunteers in December since 2001, when the game was delayed as a result of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The full schedule is listed below. All kickoff times are still TBD.

Week 1 – Sept. 26 at Ole Miss

Week 2 – Oct. 3 vs. South Carolina

Week 3 – Oct. 10 at Texas A&M

Week 4 – Oct. 17 vs. LSU

Week 5 – Oct. 24 vs. Missouri

Week 6 – Bye

Week 7 – Nov. 7 vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville)

Week 8 – Nov. 14 vs. Arkansas

Week 9 – Nov. 21 at Vanderbilt

Week 10 – Nov. 28 vs. Kentucky

Week 11 – Dec. 5 at Tennessee

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Why the SEC won’t be expanding for 2020

The SEC won’t be expanding for one season, something many fans were thinking possible on Monday. Commish Greg Sankey explained why today.

Before the Big Ten report was even shot down on Monday there were rumors flying that colleges everywhere from Clemson to Ohio State to Texas and Oklahoma were going to be trying to join the SEC for one season.

As intriguing as that sounds however, it just won’t be the case according to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

Sankey was on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday and explained why the pushing kickoff back to the end of September has helped so much and why the idea of the SEC expanding for a single season just isn’t practical.

You can watch the entire episode below, we’ve got it cued up for you right wen Sankey’s appearance begins:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLV5Kfi4lgU?start=1633&w=560&h=315].

 

Vanderbilt, Missouri added to LSU’s 2020 football season

The conference is expected to reveal a fully updated schedule for each team with finalized dates next week.

The SEC announced of Friday afternoon that both the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Missouri Tigers would be added to LSU’s conference-only schedule for the 2020 season.

The conference is expected to reveal a fully updated schedule for each team with finalized dates next week.

This news comes of the heels of the SEC announcing its teams would only be playing opponents within their conference in a season that is set to begin on Sept. 26.

LSU will play six opponents in the West Division, plus its games against teams in the East Division (Florida and South Carolina).

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The Tigers’ rematch with Texas, along with the nonconference contests against UT-San Antonio, Rice and Nicholls State were all cancelled.

It will be interesting to see how a Tigers team that has lost so much since last year fares with this schedule, but it’s safe to say that Vanderbilt and Missouri should both be relatively easy wins for the team based on history alone.

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An Update on SEC Football in 2020

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey isn’t hiding from the reality of the world like some thought he’d do in order to do everything possible to save football for his conference in 2020

Perhaps it’s because of their own saying that “it just means more” that many believe the SEC will be the last conference to make any changes to their 2020 football plans.

Word was that the SEC was not happy whatsoever that the Big Ten announced their plan to play only conference games last week and one can assume they felt the same when the Pac-12 followed suit.

What will the SEC ultimately do?

We got a peak into that a little bit on Monday when the conference athletic directors met in person for the first time since March.

Today’s meeting took place in the SEC offices in Birmingham, Alabama and the most notable takeaway is that conference commissioner Greg Sankey isn’t hiding from the reality of the world like some thought he’d do in order to do everything possible to save football for his conference in 2020.

“It is clear that current circumstances related to COVID-19 must improve and we will continue to closely monitor developments around the virus on a daily basis,” Sankey said. “In the coming weeks we will continue to meet regularly with campus leaders via videoconferences and gather relevant information while guided by medical advisors. We believe that late July will provide the best clarity for making the important decisions ahead of us.”  -SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey on July 13, 2020

It might not be earth-shattering but the sole fact that the head of the SEC went as far as to say things need to improve as clearly as he did came across as more revealing than I was anticipating the SEC leading on.  Just like the ACC, the SEC will wait until late July until announcing any decisions on the 2020 football season.

Notre Dame is currently scheduled to host Arkansas on the second Saturday in September.  The trip would be the first for the Razorbacks to Notre Dame Stadium.

Perhaps the Pete Thamel piece from earlier today made the obvious more real or maybe it was just common sense showing up in a place we don’t always expect it to.

Whatever exactly it is, it’s starting to feel like we’re going to need a sports miracle in order to pull off a college football season anytime soon.

Related: What Notre Dame’s 2020 Football Schedule Might Look Like

Colorado State Football: What Does Vanderbilt Bring To The Table?

The CSU Rams head to Vanderbilt this season. Here’s the info you need to know about the Commodores and the players to watch out for.

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Colorado State Football: What Does Vanderbilt Bring To The Table?

The Rams face their third P5 matchup of the 2020 season

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Can the Rams take down a struggling Commodore team?

The Colorado State Rams head to Nashville in week four of the 2020 season to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. This will be their third Power 5 matchup of the non-conference schedule and will be a measuring point for Steve Addazio during his first season as the Rams head coach. The game is currently scheduled to take place Saturday, September 26th. No time or TV schedule has been set yet.

Location: Nashville, TN

Mascot: Commodores

Conference: Southeastern

2019 Record: 3–9 (1–7 SEC)

Head Coach: Derek Mason (Overall 27–47). Mason is heading into his seventh season as the Vanderbilt head coach and has never had a winning record. He has gone to two bowl games, but lost both of them. Every time Vanderbilt seems to turn a corner, progress seems to stall.

Mason replaced both of his coordinators this offseason. Todd Fitch and Ted Roof were hired as offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. Fitch has his work cut out for him as the offense loses a lot of production. Roof could have an easier time as the defense returns a lot of production.

Series: This will be the teams first ever meeting.

2019 Vanderbilt Season Review:

The Commodores had a rough 2019 season. Finishing the season 3-9 is always rough, but Vanderbilt wasn’t a competitive team last season. All of their losses came by 17 or more points. One of these losses was a 34-10 home loss to UNLV. And their only win by more than 7 points was a 38-0 shut out of FCS East Tennessee State.

The Commodores shuffled quarterbacks throughout the year with poor results. The only bright spot being a surprising 21-14 win over #22 ranked Missouri. The Vanderbilt offense fell off a cliff from 2018. The Commodores went from 28.5 points and 411 yards per game in 2018 to 16.5 points and 296.7 yards per game in 2019.

The defense was the best part of this Vanderbilt team, but still finished a dismal 99th in SP+. The Commodores defense was a young team and it showed at times. They were able to succeed at stuffing the run and shutting down 3rd down and long, but teams moved the ball a lot on 1st and 2nd down. The only bright spot for this team was special teams, which finished ranked 26th in SP+ rankings.

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Notre Dame Recruit Tristan Bounds Uses Loophole to Visit Campus

Much has been made about how much Notre Dame has been hurt by its inability to recruit players during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Much has been made about how much Notre Dame has been hurt by its inability to recruit players during the COVID-19 outbreak. The university’s location puts it at a disadvantage. Still, that didn’t stop one recruit from stopping by campus anyway.

Tristan Bounds, a three-star offensive tackle who’s part of the 2021 recruiting class, has eight schools at the top of the list. The pandemic had prevented him from visiting four of them, including Notre Dame. But Bounds, the 39th-ranked offensive tackle in his class according to 247Sports, made the trek to campus Tuesday, one day after he visited Michigan. Though the dead period has been extended to June 30, a loophole allows recruits to visit colleges as long as they aren’t accompanied by or in contact with anyone affiliated with the football program during their trip.

Bounds, who measures at 6-foot-8 and 280 pounds, plays for Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut, still has to make visits to Boston College and Texas. So far, he also has set foot on Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland and Vanderbilt. It’s a lot of traveling, but nothing the student at a boarding school over 300 miles from his home in Bethesda, Maryland, can’t handle.

Jeff Quinn, the Irish’s offensive line coach, offered Bounds a scholarship May 1, the day Notre Dame was revealed to be on Bounds’ list. The Irish emerged as a late contender for his services. However, his visit to campus means they’re still in the hunt.

 

Chiefs anticipating larger role on offense for WR Mecole Hardman in 2020

It might go unsaid, but it appears the Chiefs are expecting a big jump from Mecole Hardman in Year 2.

The Kansas City Chiefs got a lot out of their 2019 rookie class, but it appears they’re expecting an even bigger jump from some players in year No. 2.

Mecole Hardman made some contributions on both offense and special teams in his debut season. He played over 44% of the offensive snaps in Kansas City. Comparatively, he played about  30% of special teams snaps, primarily working as a return specialist. His production on offense was quite impressive, with 26 receptions for 538 yards, six touchdowns. In fact, Hardman led the NFL in yards per reception (20.7) among players with at least 25 receptions. On special teams, Hardman had 45 combined kick and punt returns for 871 yards and a touchdown.

It makes sense that the Chiefs would be looking for Hardman to take a leap, specifically on offense, during the 2020 season. But how much of a leap are they expecting exactly? A big enough leap that they’re looking for someone that can carry the mantle on special teams.

Undrafted rookie free agent receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley recently revealed what Kansas City told him they were looking for during the pre-draft process. What they said helped him choose to sign with the Chiefs over starting his post-football career as a banker at Goldman Sachs.

“The Chiefs gave me a call about a week before the (NFL) Draft,” Shelton-Mosley told Vanderbilt Commodores senior editor Chad Bishop. “They said they wanted to find someone to be in the return game and also someone that would be the guy to do the things (Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver) Mecole Hardman does.”

Shelton-Mosley, of course, is a stud return specialist with over 1,000 yards on kick returns across his career with both Stanford and Vanderbilt. But that is a common thread across multiple of the undrafted free agents the Chiefs brought in. Maurice Ffrench, Aleva Hifo, and Kalija Lipscomb all have experience as a return specialist. Andre Baccellia certainly has the vision and speed to work there, though he hadn’t during his college career.

It makes sense if the Chiefs are anticipating a larger role on offense for Hardman in 2020, that the first thing they’d want to do is add a player to take away some of his special teams repetitions. That would help keep his legs fresh for the offense and allow him to get deeper into the offensive playbook. They’d also look to add a player that can perform as a suitable backup were he to get injured. That seems to be exactly what Kansas City sought to do when they brought in a multitude of undrafted free agents at the receiver position.

It might go unsaid by the folks in charge, and the return of both Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson might signal otherwise, but it appears the Chiefs are gearing up for Hardman to do a quite a bit more on offense in 2020. That prospect should scare opponents around the league, adding another consistent speed threat on the field for a greater number of snaps in Kansas City.

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