Biggest question: Same ol’ Vandy or new and improved?

Vanderbilt took a step last season, and with so much seniority and one of the country’s best players returning, it wants to take several more this season. The Commodores seem equipped to do so.

But it’s always like that at Vanderbilt. They’ll have a season where they pull off some kind of huge win(s), the future is glowing … and then they slide right back down to where they’ve traditionally been – the SEC cellar.

If that happens this year, it will be because of the schedule. There was no way Derek Mason could have known how it would line up, and he probably didn’t have as much say when putting these teams on the schedule considering they’re planned years in advance.

If he did have a say, he may regret it. Nothing screams stopping momentum like starting on the road (Middle Tennessee), hosting Kansas State and Western Kentucky and re-engaging Alabama on the SEC slate.

“I don’t fear anybody, and our team doesn’t as well. So when we line up to play Alabama, we got to line up to play Alabama,” Mason said at SEC Media Days. “We have three other opponents, starting with MTSU. That’s where we sit today, and that’s where we’ll be. When we face Alabama, we’re going to be ready to play.”

The Commodores battled an inconsistent offense last year to get to the cusp of bowl eligibility, and then smashed through with a 45-34 win over Tennessee. Vandy scored 38 and 45 points in its last two games after averaging 19.9 through the first 10, but regressed in the Independence Bowl.

Offense is where Vandy has to get better this year. The Commodores’ greatest strength is running back Ralph Webb, the program’s career leading rusher and an elite back who never gets talked about as being an elite back. They have to find something around him.

Quarterback Kyle Shurmur had a fine last two games of the regular season but threw three picks in the bowl game. He had nine touchdowns to 10 interceptions for the year and has to get much sharper if the Commodores want to succeed this year.

As good as Webb is – and converted linebacker Khari Blossomgame is a solid No. 2 option toting the ball – he needs help. A four-man group of receivers, led by C.J. Duncan, could be that answer.

Defensively, Vandy lost linebacker Zach Cunningham, a guy so good one of his plays was responsible for a rule change this year (no more hurdling a line to block a kick, as he did against Auburn in 2016). The Commodores are rebuilding along the front but have a senior-stocked secondary, which puts the onus on stopping the run. Not many opponents will want to challenge the safeties.

Vandy has an old team (38 juniors or seniors). They remember how special it was to get back to a bowl last year, and to do it against a rival. A return to a bowl game isn’t out of the picture, but a loss in the first game (at MTSU) would have many repeating a mantra that’s been as constant as a Vanderbilt coach declaring that this is the year it comes around.

Same ol’ Vandy.