Week 7: Charleston Southern at Vanderbilt

Charleston Southern (5-0) at Vanderbilt (1-5) Oct. 11, 7:30, ESPN3

Here’s The Deal: With one of the most efficient and effective passing games in the FCS, Charleston Southern has jumped out to a 5-0 record with a chance to make a huge splash for its program against a floundering FBS team. Vanderbilt can’t seem to wake up from its nightmare, getting blown out for the fifth time in six games thanks to an offense that’s not going anywhere and a defense that’s not picking up the slack. This is a young team that needs lots of time and lots of maturing, and it desperately needs a win. It’s going to take something special to come up with a victory the rest of the way over anyone but, possibly, Old Dominion, so enjoy, Commodore fans. This could be one of the highlights of the season.

Why Charleston Southern Might Win: The passing attack is really, really good. Austin Brown is turning into a potential pro quarterback prospect with tremendous accuracy and presence, completing 17-of-20 passes for 216 yards and two touchdowns two weeks ago in the win over Charlotte. The Buccaneer passing game is efficient, there’s a ground game to rely on with Christian Reyes balancing things out, and there’s more than enough firepower to make Vandy have to press.

Why Vanderbilt Might Win: 5-0 is great, but it’s not like Charleston Southern has played a who’s who of top teams. It’s defense couldn’t slow down the Charlotte balance last week, and it couldn’t handle the Citadel ground game. There have been too many penalties at times (ten against Citadel), too many turnovers (three against Charlotte), and not quite enough to suggest that there’s a possible upset in the making. It’ll take a nearly-perfect effort to get it done, and that’s not really what CSU can do.

Who To Watch Out For: The Vanderbilt running game is sort of working. It’s not blasting through anyone, but there are occasional signs that something might pop, and it starts with freshman Ralph Webb, a speedy back out of Gainesville who ran for 116 yards against UMass and continues to fight the good fight despite playing behind a porous offensive line. He has 499 yards and two scores on the year, and he could be a threat to get to 1,000 if he can pile up the stats this week.

What’s Going To Happen: Charleston Southern is going to bomb away, but Vanderbilt needs to take control early against a team that’s great at handling the clock. The Commodores will win, but it’s not going to be decisive until late.

Prediction: Vanderbilt 38 … Charleston Southern 17
Line: No Line
Must Watch Factor: 5: Last Week Tonight – 1: Bad Judge … 1.5