Notre Dame Football: Ranking 2018 opponents by toughness

SOUTH BEND, IN - OCTOBER 21: Brandon Wimbush #7 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks to pass while under pressure from Uchenna Nwosu #42 of the USC Trojans in the second quarter of a game at Notre Dame Stadium on October 21, 2017 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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NASHVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 09: Quarterback Kyle Shurmur #14 of the Vanderbilt Commodores drops back to throw his career high fourth passing touchdown of the day against the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Vanderbilt Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

Not long ago, Vanderbilt was looked at as a potential surprise team in the SEC. Head coach Derek Mason brought a new attitude to Nashville, replacing James Franklin who left for the Penn State job.

Unfortunately, the Commodores are back to their mediocre ways. They did get off to a hot 3-0 start in 2017 which included a win over Kansas State, but Alabama humbled them with a 59-0 thrashing in Week 4 — and that was after the players chanted ‘we want Bama’.

That loss led to five straight defeats before a Western Kentucky win and then the Commodores finished the last three games with a 1-2 record. Even a 3-0 start wasn’t enough to get this team a bowl berth.

Mason has to do some soul-searching if he’s going to lead this team back to a bowl game and he’ll be relying upon talented senior quarterback Kyle Shurmur who passed for 2,823 yards and 26 touchdowns rather quietly in 2017.

The offense did, however, rank 102nd in total yardage while the defense was just 65th.

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