College Football Countdown: 93 Days
By Matt Green
With 93 days left in the Southbound and Down College Football Countdown, we take a different approach to yesterday’s topic of the red zone.
Yesterday we mentioned that Ole Miss had the worst red zone defense in the SEC in 2016, and the third worst in the nation. Today we take a look at the best red zone offense in the Southeastern Conference in 2016.
And that leads us to no. 93 on the College Football Countdown.
93
Vanderbilt’s offensive red zone scoring percentage.
Vanderbilt scored on 93.5 percent of their red zone appearances last season, the best mark in the SEC, and the fifth best in the country. You wouldn’t expect that coming from the Commodores offense. Not only do they have one of the most defensive-minded head coaches in the conference in Derek Mason, but they also ranked 12th in the SEC in total offense (359.2 yards per game) and points per game (23.5).
So while the Commodores’ offense was nothing spectacular, those red zone numbers are worth commending. Vanderbilt was ninth in the SEC with 46 red zone attempts, and they scored on 43 of those 46 attempts in 2016, including 32 touchdowns, which was a 69.6 percent touchdown rate.
Mason is now entering his fourth season as the head coach of the Commodores. He’s 13-24 in his first three years, and he’s the only coach in the SEC that also serves as the team’s defensive coordinator.
The offense has shown improvement under Mason, and if they can repeat their red zone success in 2017, that could go a long way in the Commodores making a bowl for a second consecutive season.