ATLANTA – Just when it looked like the Vanderbilt football team had regained its momentum, it all came crashing down. The Commodores (2-1) lost 36-32 to Georgia State (2-1) in a game riddled with penalties and other mistakes.

On Vanderbilt’s first drive, Diego Pavia was sacked and dropped the ball, setting the tone for the game, in which Georgia State led for most of the game until the Commodores took the lead with a late touchdown. But Vanderbilt allowed four chunk plays on a touchdown drive that gave the Panthers the win.

Here are three overreactions:

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Injuries take their toll

Vanderbilt stayed very healthy through the first few games, aside from an ankle issue to Khordae Sydnor that cost him two games. But that luck may soon run out. Both De’Rickey Wright and Zaylin Wood were out during the first half. Wright later returned to the game. Wood did not.

Pavia, who Clark Lea said was dealing with “bumps and bruises” earlier in the week, didn’t run the ball nearly as much as he usually does, hampering the Commodores’ offense.

Defensive penalties are deadly

Linus Zunk, CJ Taylor and Nick Rinaldi all committed defensive errors that resulted in 10- or 15-yard penalties and automatic first downs. Each of the three drives in which the penalties were committed ended in a point (two touchdowns and a field goal).

While it’s possible Georgia State would have scored on those drives anyway, Vanderbilt’s defense isn’t good enough to handle those free yards. Taylor’s targeting penalty was especially bad because it sidelined him for the rest of the game, as well as the first half of next week’s game against Missouri. On the final drive, Vanderbilt could have benefited from having its best safety available.

This made reaching a bowl game even more difficult

After Vanderbilt beat Virginia Tech earlier in the season, it seemed like big things were possible. If the Commodores could win all of their non-conference games, just two SEC wins could put the team in a bowl.

That number equates to at least three SEC wins. The three games that seemed most likely to be won were those of Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina; all three of those teams had their ups and downs. But there’s a lot less reason for optimism when Vanderbilt has to win all three games to get to the bowl, rather than just two.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Reach her at [email protected] or via X, formerly Twitter. @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared in the Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt-Georgia State: Commodores’ optimism gone, more overreactions