What Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said after the 36-23 loss to No. 7 Tennessee

NASHVILLE — What Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said Saturday afternoon after the 36-23 loss to No. 7 Tennessee at FirstBank Stadium:

Opening Statement

“It was a tough, tough result. And a disappointing kind of effort through the middle of the finish for us. Obviously, loved the way we started and just needed to pull that energy and that level of play through four quarters. I think there’s a lot to learn from us from this game, and to learn here late is a gift as we turn towards the bowl game. But yeah, I just felt like there was just a momentum shift that occurred there with a lot of back and forth play early. Once they took the momentum we kind of allowed them to have it for the rest of the game. 

“And you got to credit Tennessee. Obviously, they were playing for the (College Football) Playoffs and credit Coach Heupel and his team for their winning performance. But, again, for us, it’s a look at the things that we did well early on where we were able to get momentum and get points and the kickoff return and the turnover. And, again, the back and forth, the fourth-down stop, the interception by Martell, some missed opportunities there. Obviously, the pick we threw in the end zone was a drive where we were going to get some points, at least three. And that was that was unfortunate. 

“But I think the story becomes the point at which I think they scored 29 unanswered points and a second half in which I think our offense snapped the ball 11 times, and they snapped it 44. And we’re not, when you turn the ball over, when you have eight penalties for 80 yards, and when you’re not possessing the football here for us right now, you’re not going to win games. And, again, I thought it felt to me a little bit like the energy of the field was going to dictate our energy rather than the other way around. So early on, it seemed like we had everything we needed. 

“There late, it seemed like I didn’t recognize the team that was on the field. And that’s disappointing. And, again, we’ll learn from it, we’ll grow, and we’ll focus on winning the ball game.” 

What made it difficult in the second half for Vanderbilt to get anything done on offense

“Part of it was, obviously, our performance on third down defensively. And I don’t know the split half in terms of the half, but they were 11 of 15 on their third downs. Ten of those were inside of four yards, meaning we weren’t getting them to third-and-longs. I think too, especially in that initial drive, it just felt like we were having trouble getting them off schedule. And some of it, it just the run wall, the negative-yards plays we were getting in the first half, or plays that were hitting at the line of scrimmage, seemed like they were on and became 5-6 yard gains. A lot of second-and-five, second-and-four. And and then some of the conversion downs, not able to generate the pass rush. We need to shorten it down. So when we can’t get off the field, obviously, it’s going create problems for our offense. And then offensively, I think we were 4 of 9 in the first half, and we end up 4 of 10 on 3rd down.But there weren’t opportunities there for them. And Gunnar going down hurt.  Obviously, they were able to get to the quarterback a little bit. The safety was a tough possession where, again, we stop them at midfield. They punt it. They pin us. We get a safety and then kick the return kickoff out of bounds. They start the possession at midfield. It’s just you’re just not helping yourself against a good team. And, again, I thought they ran the ball effectively in the second half and just kind of wore us out, to be honest with you. And it’s hard hard to say that, but it’s the truth. And that’s how I saw that second half.”

If it was an effort or toughness problem for Vanderbilt in the second half 

“I want to be careful not to be too dramatic about it. We just have a certain style of play that is our expectation, and just it seemed like I felt a little bit the way I felt against South Carolina in the second half, where it just seemed like we were on our heels a little bit. I just didn’t feel that redirection of the energy on the field. And we’ll watch the film and determine where we could have strengthened in terms of the tactics, but it just there’s a clear energy difference between early in the game and late and just like every team, you know, we’re battling injuries. We’ve had a bunch up front, and guys that haven’t been able to play. So you’re playing against a tempo team and you’re accumulating snaps with the interior defensive line. And it just it seemed to get we just just kind of got a little leaky in there. Our answers became to pressure and seemed like they were able to separate the movements and find the space they needed. 

“So I want stop short of being critical of effort. I just again, the thing that I said to the team afterwards was just like, there was a clear shift in energy in that game where I felt like we stopped playing with the way we played at the start. And at the start, we were dictating terms at the start. It felt like we were building that run wall and doing the things we need to do in the run game on our end to stay on schedule. And I think that performance over four quarters would have put us in position to win a game. We weren’t able to maintain it. And so we’re disappointed.” 

Tennessee being able to wear on its opponents

“Well, I mean, I want to give them a ton of credit, and  I think they’ve built a really nice team. I think their run game, it’s physical and tough, and I think they’ve done things this season where it seems as though they’re not just trying to line it up and snap it as many times as they can. They’re slowing down a little bit. They’re a little more methodical. They’re using tempo to change pace and get you on your heels. But, you know, the early back and forth of the game was erratic and was kind of where we needed that game to stay. Felt like once it settled into the playing of football, I mean, we needed to be able to generate stops defensively. We didn’t do that effectively, and we needed to create space for our offense, and we didn’t do that either. And so it was a pretty, again, once we got past those early back and forth, it felt like a pretty complete game that they played, and we didn’t do enough on our end  take them out of their rhythm. As far as being a tough out or whatever exists for them, I’ll stop short of commenting on that. I got a ton of respect for them, and they were the better team today for sure.”

On saying the rivalry is deeply personal to him, how much the loss hurt

“I mean, I just talked to the team about it. It’s painful and I’m upset. I mean, I’m disappointed, but it’s also a part of our journey and a part of our growth. I mean, we have to stay focused on how we’re learning and evolving forward and how we improve our play in this game a year from now. I wanted it less for me and more for the players that have put so much into this. And some of those guys won’t get another chance to play in that game,and some of them have put four efforts on the field that we’re not real proud of, and today was one of them again. So just very disappointed and a lot to learn, a lot for me to take away too. But certainly it hurts and there’s nothing really that can take that sting away. At some point, we gotta turn the page and focus on the bowl game.”

What needs to happen for Vanderbilt to play better against Tennessee next season 

“We got to keep developing our depth and I think that’s a story or a that’s a narrative for me that as the season’s gone on it just it feels like we’re having to play closer and closer to a perfect game to to come out on top. And looking back, I mean, the effort that we put together at Auburn was us squeezing everything out of the tube. When we came back against South Carolina, it felt like we didn’t quite have the same energy. You know? I mean, that was a tough stretch for that tough six game stretch. Coming out of the bye, I thought we went down and battled in Baton Rouge, but didn’t generate the plays we needed to to win that one. And today, man, we came out swinging, and we’re ready emotionally for that game, but just we weren’t able to sustain. So what do we need to do? We got to build our depth out. We got to make sure that we have the ability to play over the course of the season, you know, a two deep and at some positions a three deep and not let the play kind of slide off on the field. We’ve got to continue to enhance and develop our skill. Obviously, the runaway touchdown there on the RPO was really a tough play for us. That was, it’s one of those kinda anti strategy plays. I mean, you can force them to line it up and snap it a bunch of times, but when you allow them to to score in chunks you’re playing into their hand. And so we just gotta some of that is learning for the players. Some of that is gonna be about the development of the players we have, and some of that’s gonna be about going out and finding guys that continue to move us forward that way too. So it’s a lot, but that’s part of growing a program and building a program. It’s no different than a year ago. The things that we identified we needed to strengthen, we went out and did. And so we’re gonna do that with the bowl team this year, and we’ll keep advancing on the goal. And big part of that’s going to be retaining the guys that we have here and just continuing to improve them through our systems of development.”

Why Vanderbilt struggled to throw the football

“Yeah, I think some of that has to do with who they are and, you know, the space that they weren’t giving us so that we couldn’t create. A couple times, again, it’s a little bit of the same old story. You know, when we lose in the pass rush, we make it hard on Diego. I know they had a batted ball in there, maybe two. So sometimes those quick throws where you’re trying to get the ball off, you know, if they can get a paw up and knock it down, it keeps you from rhythm. 

“I felt like the run game early was working for us too, and that needs to be a part of our identity, again in the spirit of shortening the game, which is still how we play. That starts with  physical run game, but I think we’re gonna look at it and, you know, were we able to get open when they were playing man? Were we able to beat man? That’ll be what we need to answer when we watch the film. And then, you know, were we able to protect the quarterback in critical situations, too? And there were some opportunities in there where, you know, we want the one-on-back back to (Quincy Skinner Jr.). I know he wants that one back. I mean, I felt like there were some chances for us in the passing game that we just didn’t capitalize on as well.”

If he would go back and change any of the play calls on the short-yardage situations where Tennessee was able to convert

“Well, I mean, the fourth down was tough. Again, I think I don’t mind the call we made. We didn’t execute it, credit to them. I mean, we were able to generate — I think at that point, we traded four-down stops at some level. So, I mean, you know, 4th-and-2, and for us, you know, it’s we’re trying to win this game, and so we wanna try to keep pressure on them, and we ran a little play action to try to get the ball to Eli (Stowers), I believe. But we’ll look at the film and kinda hash through the ins-and-outs of the call and the process to the call. But in the moment, I didn’t have any issue with it. I think we were trying to off our heavy personnel, trying to give a changeup look on a long two yards. You know? I mean, it was not a gimme. If they’re gonna sub out and put their big people in the field, you know, we’re gonna have to find a way to  get the space. 

The upcoming bowl practices for Vanderbilt

“I mean, it’s huge. And, you know, in this moment, I’m so frustrated, and I want for better. I think it’s hard sometimes to cut through that because this is a very emotional process. We’re all frustrated, and we all wanna play better. But in the end, this team gets an opportunity to not only finish the season with a win, we’ve already talked about it as a team, going to a bowl game is one thing, but you don’t go unless you wanna win the bowl game. So to be able to send the seniors out, and the guys playing their last games at Vanderbilt, out the right way, is important. 

“And then when you shift and you look at the development piece, you know, you essentially get another spring practice for your developmental players, and that becomes such an advantage as you turn the page to next season. And so the challenge I gave the team is just, you know, we allow this to hurt because it needs to, honestly. I mean, we need to feel the pain of this because at some point, we gotta get tired of it. And the being tired of it to me is, not that we’re guaranteed ever a result. It’s that, you know, again, we don’t fracture, we don’t relent, we don’t mentally lose our discipline in these games to give us the best opportunity to win. And it’s hard because there’s so many ups and downs, but good teams stay the course. So we need to let this hurt, and we need to learn from it, but for everyone involved, and for those guys that’ll be moving on from our program, the bowl is a chance for them to leave a legacy and to really help us launch into what’s next. 

“And as we’ve seen from last year to this year, we wanna be playing in these games for opportunities in the playoffs. That’s where we wanna be. As far away as I may feel right now, you know, I’m gonna wake up tomorrow and go back to work, and I’m gonna be a little bit closer, you know, and that’s just kinda my mentality and who I am. We’ll keep making the decisions and doing the things we need to do to get this program closer to that. So, again, disappointed, but I appreciate the question because there’s a lot to celebrate with respect to what this team has done. And going back to the effort comment, I mean, we need to learn from it, but, man, do I really have a lot of respect for the players in that locker room. And never would I want it to seem like — I mean, those guys came out to win a game today, and they’re crushed that they didn’t. We gotta be mature enough to take the learning and figure out why that happened and why it didn’t. But, I love this team, and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished this season. The result stings, but we’re gonna wake up tomorrow and go back to work.”