Column: Vanderbilt Football Found Multiple Things It Can Build On

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With 32 seconds to go in Vanderbilt football’s game against Mississippi State, it looked like the direction of the game was heading toward disaster for the Commodores.

Vanderbilt’s lead that was once 16-0 had been cut all the way down to 25-23 and its opponent was going for the tie to force overtime. Up to that point, Vanderbilt’s defense had played its best game of conference play despite the points it surrendered in the second half. Considering the way the season has been going for Vanderbilt, it would have been reasonable to assume disaster was coming to rip the hearts out of Clark Lea’s team.

But something happened that Vanderbilt has not seen often this season that it did see pretty often a season ago. A stop in the biggest moment of the game in a got to have it spot. Vanderbilt forced Mississippi State quarterback AJ Swann to loft the ball out of bounds thanks to great coverage from safety Ricardo Jones.

For the first time since September, a play in a crucial time went Vanderbilt’s way and resulted in a victory Vanderbilt can go the next three weeks carrying momentum with.

The win means more than...