The 2016 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

during the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016, and ended on De ...

. The Commodores played their home games at Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and competed in the Eastern Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). They were led by third-year head coach

Derek Mason Derek Mason (born September 29, 1969) is an American college football coach who is currently the head football coach for Middle Tennessee State University. He previously served as head coach at Vanderbilt University from 2014 to 2020. Early lif ...

. This was Vanderbilt's 126th season of college football. They finished the season 6–7, 3–5 in SEC play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Division. They were invited to the

Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bow ...

where they lost to

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

Schedule

Vanderbilt announced its 2016 football schedule on October 29, 2015. The 2016 schedule consisted of six home and six away games in the regular season. The Commodores host SEC foes

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and traveled to Auburn,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. The Commodores hosted two of its four of its non–conference games, which were against

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The teams have also been nicknamed the ...

from the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

and

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

(WKU) both from

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

, and Tennessee State from the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

. :Schedule Source:

Coaching staff

Coaching changes

On December 15, 2015, coach Mason announced that special teams coach Charles Bankins, OL Coach Keven Lightner will not be retained for 2016. Mason cited a difference in philosophy rather than poor performance for the coaching changes. "I just see this football team moving in a different direction and I just wanted to make sure these men were treated the right way," Mason said. "I feel like it’s time for us to move forward."

Recruiting

Game summaries

South Carolina

Middle Tennessee

Georgia Tech

WKU

Florida

Kentucky

Georgia

Tennessee State

Auburn

Vanderbilt's November 5 meeting with Auburn at Jordan-Hare stadium was notable for eventual All-American LB Zach Cunningham's blocked FG in the fourth quarter. Auburn's Daniel Carlson lined up to kick a 35-yard field goal with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter to give the Tigers a 10-point lead. Cunningham, who after the game described watching special teams tape to learn the snap timing of the field goal team, leaped over Auburn's offensive line between the center and left guard to block Carlson's kick. Although Vanderbilt turned the ball over on the ensuing possession to seal Auburn's victory, the play became iconic for Cunningham during his redshirt junior season.

Missouri

Ole Miss

Tennessee

Vanderbilt's 45–34 win over the Tennessee Volunteers represented the Commodores' 6th win on the season, guaranteeing Vanderbilt's eligibility for Bowl play for the first time since 2013, and the first time during Mason's tenure as Vanderbilt's head coach. Prior to this game, which was played at Vanderbilt Stadium on November 26, Vanderbilt's high Academic Performance Index (API) introduced the possibility of bowl play even with a 5–7 season end record, as the 5–7 teams with the best API are rewarded with bowl appearances. However, Vanderbilt avoided dependence upon the API and defeated state rival Tennessee, also for the first time since 2013.

Kyle Shurmur Kyle Shurmur (born November 6, 1996) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the offensive quality control coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played quarterback in college football at Vand ...

led Vanderbilt in a breakout performance with 412 passing yards, and

Ralph Webb Colonel Ralph Humphreys Webb (August 30, 1886 – June 1, 1945) was a soldier and politician based in Manitoba, Canada. A monarchist, he served as the 31st Mayor of Winnipeg from 1925 to 1927 and again from 1930 to 1934, and also served in ...

eclipsed Zac Stacy's school record for career rushing yards. Vanderbilt outscored Tennessee 21–3 in the second half and iced the victory with a touchdown rush from Webb late in the fourth quarter.

NC State–
Independence Bowl The Independence Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually each December at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Independence Bow ...

References

{{Vanderbilt Commodores football navbox Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Commodores football seasons

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) within the Southe ...

2016 in Nashville, Tennessee