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2012 Vanderbilt

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by James Franklin, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Vanderbilt in 2012, game by game: lost vs. No. 9 South Carolina 13–17; lost at Northwestern 13–23; won vs. Presbyterian 58–0; lost at No. 5 Georgia 3–48; won at Missouri 19–15; lost vs. No. 4 Florida 17–31; won vs. Auburn 17–13; won vs. Massachusetts 49–7; won at Kentucky 40–0; won at Ole Miss 27–26; won vs. Tennessee 41–18; won at Wake Forest 55–21; won vs. NC State 38–24+58−45Lost 13–17 vs. No. 9 South Carolina-4No. 9 South CarolinaLost 13–23 at Northwestern-10NorthwesternWon 58–0 vs. Presbyterian+58PresbyterianLost 3–48 at No. 5 Georgia-45No. 5 GeorgiaWon 19–15 at Missouri+4MissouriLost 17–31 vs. No. 4 Florida-14No. 4 FloridaWon 17–13 vs. Auburn+4AuburnWon 49–7 vs. Massachusetts+42MassachusettsWon 40–0 at Kentucky+40KentuckyWon 27–26 at Ole Miss+1Ole MissWon 41–18 vs. Tennessee+23TennesseeWon 55–21 at Wake Forest+34Wake ForestWon 38–24 vs. NC State+14NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vs9South CarolinaL 13–⁠1736%
Sep 8atNorthwesternL 13–⁠2339%
Sep 15vsPresbyterianW 58–⁠086%
Sep 22at5GeorgiaL 3–⁠4819%
Oct 6atMissouriW 19–⁠1526%
Oct 13vs4FloridaL 17–⁠3133%
Oct 20vsAuburnW 17–⁠1356%
Oct 27vsMassachusettsW 49–⁠785%
Nov 3atKentuckyW 40–⁠057%
Nov 10atOle MissW 27–⁠2647%
Nov 17vsTennesseeW 41–⁠1864%
Nov 24atWake ForestW 55–⁠2161%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsNC StateMusic City BowlW 38–⁠2457%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat NC State 38–⁠24 in the Music City Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; 7th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 24th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Final: 23
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 7th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 23
Points
390–⁠243
Coach
James Franklin
Elo
1603 +110 this season
SP+ rating
10.0 No. 41 of 124; offense No. 70, defense No. 23, special teams No. 13
SRS
9.2 No. 26 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 46
Offensive coordinator
John Donovan
Defensive coordinators
Bob Shoop and Brent Pry
Captains
Jordan Rodgers, Walker May, Archibald Barnes, Zac Stacy, Johnell Thomas, Javon Marshall, [[Wesley Johnson and Carey Spear
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense105th of 124
  • Defense18th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted111th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted26th of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0038%0.94105th of 124
Defense-0.0039%0.8918th of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.02 off
0.03 def		39% off
40% def		—111th off
26th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 342% allowed
Defense-0.2own 282% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJordan Rodgers QB2,539 yds
Passing touchdownsJordan Rodgers QB15 TD
Rushing yardsZac Stacy RB1,141 yds
Rushing touchdownsZac Stacy RB10 TD
Receiving yardsJordan Matthews WR1,323 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Matthews WR8 TD
InterceptionsTrey Wilson DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Brian Kimbrow APB★★★★No. 230
Andrew Jelks OT★★★No. 394
Caleb Azubike WDE★★★No. 517
Jacob Sealand ILB★★★No. 533
Patton Robinette DUAL★★★No. 563

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.875
Running backs23.00.842
Receivers13.00.864
Offensive line63.00.860
Defensive line43.00.845
Linebackers43.00.851
Defensive backs33.00.853
Athletes and specialists13.00.798
Whole class223.00.851

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 5Zachary Stacy RBSt. Louis Rams
Rd 7Ryan Seymour OGSeattle Seahawks

Roster 103

The 2012 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2012 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2012 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠112–⁠25
Florida7–⁠111–⁠29
South Carolina6–⁠211–⁠28
Texas A&M6–⁠211–⁠25
LSU6–⁠210–⁠314
Vanderbilt5–⁠39–⁠423
Mississippi State4–⁠48–⁠5
Ole Miss3–⁠57–⁠6
Missouri2–⁠65–⁠7
Arkansas2–⁠64–⁠8
Tennessee1–⁠75–⁠7
Auburn0–⁠83–⁠9
Kentucky0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.