Vanderbilt targets penalty problem before Arkansas homecoming game

Vanderbilt has made penalties its main problem to solve this week. The Commodores were flagged 11 times for 92 yards in Saturday's loss to Ole Miss, and coach Clark Lea is calling for change before Arkansas comes to FirstBank Stadium for homecoming.

The Tennessean reported that Vanderbilt is averaging 9.3 penalties per game in 2026. Only five FBS teams average more, and none of them are in the SEC. According to the paper, the team has been punished in practice for the mistakes. Lea called many of the flags unacceptable and said the team's energy was not where it needed to be. He also said players who don't buy into fixing the problem could lose their spots.

The Ole Miss game showed both kinds of trouble. Five of the 11 flags were offensive procedural calls: three false starts, an illegal formation and an illegal shift. Two personal fouls did more damage. On offense, one came after Vanderbilt had driven to the 2-yard line. The Commodores were pushed back, took a sack and settled for a field goal. On defense, another wiped out a third-down stop in the red zone. Instead of kicking a field goal, Ole Miss got a new set of downs and scored a touchdown. The Tennessean estimated those two penalties alone may have cost Vanderbilt eight points.

Lea described the procedural penalties as a real setback and a concern this season, and he blamed sloppiness. He also wants better special teams after Vanderbilt had two punts blocked this year. Tight end Cole Spence said some of the false starts came from linemen who weren't sure of their assignments and lost track of the snap count. He said the fix was knowing what to do when a defense shifts, staying calm and spending more time in the film room. Linebacker Nick Rinaldi kept it short. "We're handling it," he told The Tennessean.

Arkansas (2-4) at Vanderbilt (3-3) kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern on Saturday on ESPN2. Both teams are 0-3 in SEC play, so one of them will get its first conference win. For Vanderbilt, a win would also get the season back above .500 at the midpoint.

The market expects Vanderbilt to win. The Commodores are favored at -212 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, and DraftKings has the best sportsbook price on Vanderbilt at -225. The spread is Vanderbilt -6.5, and the total is 50.5. With a margin that close to a touchdown, a few drive-killing flags could decide whether Vanderbilt covers it, as they did against Ole Miss.

Full pricing for the game is on our Arkansas at Vanderbilt odds page. More coverage of the Razorbacks and Commodores is on their team pages.