Vanderbilt defeats Middle Tennessee State with a final score of 47-24 at Vanderbilt Stadium, September 10, 2016.
Harsha Sridhar: Last year was an exhibition in the many ways to lose a close football game. We saw the Jackets drop contests thanks to special teams blunders, defensive breakdowns and offensive blunders. The team was dealing with the void left by star guard Shaq Mason, receivers like DeAndre Smelter and Darren Waller, and reliable contributors all over the field. It showed.
I think Tech’s "actual" talent level puts it between the Orange Bowl-capped 2014-15 campaign and the disappointment of 2015-16, closer to the former.