Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has a simple strategy against Texas on Saturday.
“We’d love nothing more than to make this a really ugly game,” Lea said on Monday. “It comes down to time of possession and creating extra opportunities for our offense.
With an average time of possession of 33:00, Vanderbilt leads the SEC and is ranked 11th in FBS. Texas is ranked ninth in time of possession (29:35).
During the SEC media conference call on Wednesday, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian was asked if Vanderbilt’s ability to hold the ball will alter how he attacks the Commodores.
“It’s one thing to possess the ball or not to possess the ball, but it's what are you doing with your opportunities when you get them,” Sarkisian said. “When you're playing a team like Vanderbilt, who is very efficient, can control the ball, can extend drives on third downs, things of that nature, it's not counting the plays, it's not counting the possessions. It's making the plays and making the possessions count. We need to be really efficient on Saturday against them. We really got to minimize the wasted plays, as I like to call them. Find positive yards, be effective on third down and or fourth down, if we choose to go for it, to extend our own drives.
“I think they do a heck of a job of having a good plan coming into games, of getting the lead and then playing to that lead and trying to shrink the game some. It's a formula for success. You know, Clark, I just heard him say [moments before Sarkisian’s conference call] the same thing. They have a formula which they believe in, you can see their team does believe in it, and it's been holding true for them.”
“We’d love nothing more than to make this a really ugly game,” Lea said on Monday. “It comes down to time of possession and creating extra opportunities for our offense.
With an average time of possession of 33:00, Vanderbilt leads the SEC and is ranked 11th in FBS. Texas is ranked ninth in time of possession (29:35).
During the SEC media conference call on Wednesday, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian was asked if Vanderbilt’s ability to hold the ball will alter how he attacks the Commodores.
“It’s one thing to possess the ball or not to possess the ball, but it's what are you doing with your opportunities when you get them,” Sarkisian said. “When you're playing a team like Vanderbilt, who is very efficient, can control the ball, can extend drives on third downs, things of that nature, it's not counting the plays, it's not counting the possessions. It's making the plays and making the possessions count. We need to be really efficient on Saturday against them. We really got to minimize the wasted plays, as I like to call them. Find positive yards, be effective on third down and or fourth down, if we choose to go for it, to extend our own drives.
“I think they do a heck of a job of having a good plan coming into games, of getting the lead and then playing to that lead and trying to shrink the game some. It's a formula for success. You know, Clark, I just heard him say [moments before Sarkisian’s conference call] the same thing. They have a formula which they believe in, you can see their team does believe in it, and it's been holding true for them.”