# 2014 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

The 2014 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Commodores played their eight home games at Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee, which has been Vanderbilt football's home stadium since 1922. Derek Mason took over the helm as Vanderbilt's new head coach. They were members of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They finished the season 3–9, 0–8 in SEC play to finish in last place in the Eastern Division.

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Year |
| Derek Mason | Head Coach | 1st |
| Karl Dorrell | Offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach | 1st |
| Dave Kotulski | Defensive coordinator / inside linebackers coach | 1st |
| Charles Bankins | Running Backs Coach/special teams coordinator | 4th |
| Gerry Gdowski | Wide receivers coach | 1st |
| Keven Lightner | Offensive line coach | 1st |
| Frank Maile | Defensive line coach | 1st |
| Kenwick Thompson | Outside Linebackers | 1st |
| Ryan Anderson | Defensive Graduate Assistant | 2nd |
| Tom Bossung | Head Athletic Trainer | 16th |
| Cedric Calhoun | Assistant Sports Performance | 1st |
| Kevin Colon | Associate Director of student athletics | 4th |
| Jason Grooms | Director of football operations | 1st |
| Bill Hughan | Football Strength and Conditioning Director | 1st |
| Kevin Threlkel | Offensive Administrative Assistant | 4th |
| Matt Ruland | Assistant recruiting coordinator | 1st |
| Luke Wyatt | Head Equipment Manager | 32nd |
| Tyler Barnes | Defensive Graduate Assistant | 2nd |
| Rod Chance | Quality Control Offense | 1st |
| A.J. Haase | Offensive Graduate Assistant | 1st |
| Chandler Henley | Offensive Graduate Assistant | 1st |
| Charles Walker | Defensive Quality Control | 1st |

## Recruiting

College recruiting information (2014) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Dallas Rivers RB | DeKalb County, Georgia | Tucker | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | – | Mar 23, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Wade Freebeck QB | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | St. Thomas Aquinas HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | – | Feb 5, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Shawn Stankavage QB | Raleigh, North Carolina | Cardinal Gibbons | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 182 lb (83 kg) | – | Feb 2, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Bryce Lewis DB | Lilburn, Georgia | Parkview High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | – | Mar 23, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Bruno Reagan OL | Clarksville, Tennessee | Clarksville High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 302 lb (137 kg) | – | Feb 2, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Khari Blasingame DB | New Market, Alabama | Buckhorn High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | – | Jan 25, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Bailey Granier OL | Galliano, Louisiana | South LaFourche High school | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 340 lb (150 kg) | – | Jan 28, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Caleb Scott WR | Suwanee, Georgia | North Gwinnett High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | – | Feb 3, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Tre Tarpley DB | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Central Catholic High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | – | Feb 2, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Sekou Clark DL | Denton, Texas | Ryan High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | – | Feb 5, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Rashad Canty WR | Atlanta, Georgia | Riverdale High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | 5.35 | Jan 21, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Emmanuel Smith DB | Murfreesboro, Tennessee | Okland High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | – | Mar 23, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Cole Hardin OL | Florence, Alabama | Florence High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 295 lb (134 kg) | – | Jun 15, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Ronald Monroe ATH | Houston, Texas | Fort Bend Bush High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | – | Feb 4, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Tre Herndon DB | Chattanooga, Tennessee | East Hamilton High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | – | Jul 12, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Trent Sherfield WR | Danville, Illinois | Danville High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | – | Jul 12, 2013 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Hawkins Mann LB | Burbank, California | Burroughs High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | – | Feb 2, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Charles Wright LB | Irvine, California | Beckman High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | – | Feb 2, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Riley Tindol DL | Autauga County, Alabama | Autauga Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | – | Feb 4, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Davis Winkie LS | Cumming, Georgia | South Forsyth High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | – | Feb 2, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Ladarius Wiley DB | Los Angeles, California | Cathedral High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | – | Feb 5, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Nifae Lealao DT | Sacramento, California | Capital Christian High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 310 lb (140 kg) | – | Feb 5, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 50 Rivals: 50 247Sports: 50 ESPN: 48 |||||||
| ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014. |||||||

## Schedule

In 2014 Vanderbilt played eight home games; the Ole Miss game was played at LP Field, but it was considered a Vandy home game. Their first four games were at home. Vanderbilt played at Kentucky (Lexington, Kentucky), Georgia (Athens, Georgia), Missouri (Columbia, Missouri), and at Mississippi State (Starkville, Mississippi). Also Vandy played four non-conference teams at home against Temple, UMass, Charleston Southern, and Old Dominion.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 28 | 9:50 p.m. | Temple* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | SECN | L 7–37 | 31,731 |
| September 6 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 15 Ole Miss | LP FieldNashville, TN (rivalry / SEC Nation) | ESPN | L 3–41 | 43,260 |
| September 13 | 11:00 a.m. | UMass* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | SECRN | W 34–31 | 33,386 |
| September 20 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 14 South Carolina | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | SECN | L 34–48 | 34,441 |
| September 27 | 11:00 a.m. | at Kentucky | Commonwealth StadiumLexington, KY (rivalry) | SECN | L 7–17 | 56,940 |
| October 4 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 13 Georgia | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (rivalry) | SECN | L 17–44 | 92,746 |
| October 11 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 24 (FCS) Charleston Southern* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | SECRN | W 21–20 | 26,738 |
| October 25 | 3:00 p.m. | at Missouri | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO | SECN | L 14–24 | 65,264 |
| November 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Old Dominion* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | ESPNU | W 42–28 | 28,966 |
| November 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Florida | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | SECN | L 10–34 | 35,191 |
| November 22 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 4 Mississippi State | Davis Wade StadiumStarkville, MS | SECN | L 0–51 | 60,493 |
| November 29 | 3:00 p.m. | Tennessee | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN (rivalry) | SECN | L 17–24 | 40,350 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Temple

The Derek Mason era got off to a bad start as his mistake-prone Commodores were outscored 37-7 in a loss to visiting Temple at home. It was the worst defeat in a home opener in Vanderbilt program history, and the worst opening game loss since 1998 a 42-0 loss to Mississippi. The Commodores had seven turnovers, leading to 27 points for Temple.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Temple | 7 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 37 |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Ole Miss

With a bad loss to Ole Miss Vandy had the worst start since 1998. In 1998 they lost to Ole Miss 42-0 and Alabama 32-7 to start the season. Also in 1998 Vanderbilt started with a six straight losses and ended the 1997 season with five straight losses to complete an eleven-game losing streak.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Ole Miss | 10 | 10 | 21 | 0 | 41 |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |

### UMass

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UMass | 14 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| • Vanderbilt | 0 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 34 |

### South Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • South Carolina | 0 | 17 | 10 | 21 | 48 |
| Vanderbilt | 14 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 34 |

### Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Kentucky | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| • Georgia | 21 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 44 |

### Charleston Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Charleston Southern | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| • Vanderbilt | 3 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 21 |

### Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Missouri | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### Old Dominion

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Old Dominion | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| • Vanderbilt | 7 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 42 |

### Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Florida | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 34 |
| Vanderbilt | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |

### Mississippi State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Mississippi State | 13 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 51 |

### Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Tennessee | 10 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |