Without even playing a single snap in Saturday's 10-7 loss to Duke, redshirt senior Chris Nickson may be reintroduced to the Commodore's quarterback controversy that has plagued the team for the past two seasons.

Nickson has opened each of the last two seasons as the starter but has been replaced by redshirt junior Mackenzi Adams both times due to nagging shoulder injuries.

But with former Commodore and current Denver Broncos signal caller Jay Cutler patrolling the sideline for Homecoming, 0Adams looked nothing like the quarterback who had sparked the team to three big victories over the past two seasons.

Against a Duke defense that consistently brought pressure, a frustrated Adams went 14-for-31 for 210 yards and threw two critical interceptions as the Commodore offense struggled to move the ball for most of the game. Entering the fourth quarter, he had completed only three passes for 29 yards before taking to the air as the Commodores tried to mount a comeback.

"I try to play with a lot of passion, and it's just frustrating when things don't go your way, but we've just got to stick in there and try to get things going," Adams said. "All we needed was one play, and we got rolling a little bit. We've just got to finish."

The Vanderbilt offensive line played seven different players during the game in an attempt to jump-start the offense, but the Blue Devils repeatedly found their way into the backfield. Duke generated four sacks due to a combination of poor pass-protection by the Commodores and indecision on the part of Adams, who consistently held on to the ball too long when dropping back to pass.

"I don't know if it was their scheme, or if they were just beating us, but it seemed like almost every pass play, someone was getting into the backfield," said redshirt junior offensive tackle Thomas Welch.

Adams also struggled to hit open receivers, throwing behind his man on multiple occasions on what should have been easy completions.

Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson summed up Adams' performance as "spotty."

"Some things we did pretty good, but we were never consistent," he said. "It's hard to move the ball and drive it when you're not very consistent."

When fully healthy, Nickson has been the better option at quarterback. But he has been forced to the bench by injuries over the past two years, which has diminished his accuracy and power on throws.

On Saturday, however, Nickson spent almost half of the game warming up on the sidelines, looking as if he expected to go in on the next series as the offense continued to sputter. What's more, he looked to have regained the zip on his throws that was previously diminished due to his injury.

The Commodores are one win away from bowl eligibility, but that sixth victory will continue to elude them until they can muster some production on offense.

But as Johnson asserted, "we're far from finished."