Notre Dame 22, Vanderbilt 17: Five things we learned as Commodores come oh so close

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Vanderbilt’s upset bid slipped away in a 22-17 loss to No. 8 Notre Dame Saturday.

The Commodores (2-1) were sloppy early and resilient late, with poor tackling and miscues around the goal line weighing heavily on the outcome. 

"It was another slow start and a game of missed opportunities," coach Derek Mason said. "We didn't do enough today. There are no moral victories in this game."

Here are five things we learned from Vanderbilt’s loss to Notre Dame:

Believe it or not, Vanderbilt had a chance to win

Early on, the score of the game did not match the lopsided level of play. Notre Dame outgained Vanderbilt 211 yards to 33 midway through the second quarter, but two red-zone stands by the Commodores' defense kept the score close.

Vanderbilt rallied with Ke'Shawn Vaughn's 3-yard TD run at the end of the third quarter. It was set up by Trey Ellis' career-long 20-yard punt return and freshman C.J. Bolar's 30-yard catch, the first reception of his career.

Kyle Shurmur hit Jared Pinkney for an 18-yard TD pass to end a 75-yard drive in the fourth quarter and cut Notre Dame's lead to 22-17 with 7:22 remaining. After Notre Dame missed a field goal, Vanderbilt's potential game-winning drive ended with a failed fourth-down pass, as the ball popped out of Kalija Lipscomb's hands when he landed around the 10.

"I threw it a little high for (Lipscomb), and he had to make a great play," Shurmur said. "It just didn't shake out our way."

Donaven Tennyson’s fumble, drop were gut-shots

Vanderbilt was fortunate to be trailing only 13-0 late in the second quarter, but it corrected that with a most unfortunate play. Donaven Tennyson caught a 20-yard pass and then was stripped of the ball at the 1-foot line while trying to fight his way across the goal line. The ball ricocheted into the end zone. Vanderbilt’s Khari Blasingame rolled on top of it, but it popped from his grasp. Notre Dame recovered for a touchback.

On Vanderbilt’s ensuing drive, Tennyson dropped a surefire TD pass on a short crossing route at the goal line on the final offensive play of the first half. Vanderbilt settled for Ryley Guay’s 21-yard field goal, squandering back-to-back drives of 75 and 72 yards.

Defense showed shades of 2017, then bounced back

This was a letdown for Vanderbilt's defense early on. And the scary part for the Commodores is that it sometimes resembled last season, when they allowed an average of 260 rushing yards in SEC games.

"(Tackling) was very poor, very poor," said safety LaDarius Wiley, who led with 10 tackles. "We were not running through tackles, not wrapping up, not doing the fundamental things. But we did better in the second half, and that's something to look forward to."

Early on, Vanderbilt missed tackles, dropped a likely interception and reached the quarterback a half-second too late. But give the defense credit for putting up stiff opposition in the red zone and holding Notre Dame to only two TDs.

Kyle Shurmur did his part, climbed all-time list

Shurmur hung in the pocket and delivered some accurate passes into tight spaces. He hit Tennyson, Lipscomb, Pinkney, Chris Pierce and Bolar with NFL-type throws of 20 yards or more.

Shurmur finished 26-of-43 passing for 326 yards, one TD and one interception. He passed Whit Taylor (6,307 yards) and Kurt Page (6,233) to move into third on Vanderbilt’s career passing list. He trails only Greg Zolman (7,981 yards) and Jay Cutler (8,697 yards).

Jury is out on Vanderbilt

The loss doesn’t bury Vanderbilt’s expectations this season. Actually, it makes the team more of a mystery. The Commodores have two impressive non-conference wins over mid-majors MTSU and Nevada and a loss to a top-10 team. That’s a wide range of opponents by which to judge Vanderbilt, which falls somewhere between those two extremes.

Next Saturday’s game against South Carolina (3 p.m., SEC Network), which appears to be a comparable opponent, should be a good barometer. After that, games against FCS foe Tennessee State and No. 3 Georgia may follow the script of the first three games. There is a lot to learn about the Commodores this season.

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

ANALYSIS:How Vanderbilt lost to Notre Dame

AMMENHEUSER:Missed scoring opportunities, missed tackles costly in Vanderbilt's loss at Notre Dame