5 pressing questions for Vanderbilt football, including starting QB: Ken Seals or AJ Swann?

Vanderbilt football's losing streak reached four Saturday with its 38-21 loss to Missouri, as Ken Seals took the reins at quarterback for the first time since 2021. The Commodores (2-4, 0-2 SEC) surrendered more than 500 total yards against the Tigers (5-0, 1-0), as Mizzou QB Brady Cook set an SEC record for most consecutive passes without an interception.

With the more difficult part of the schedule coming up and half the season gone, Vanderbilt is behind pace after entering the season with hopes of making a bowl game after a 5-7 finish last season. That team had three wins at this point of the season in 2022 before putting up two more in November, and it's becoming harder to see a path for this team to have similarly strong finish.

Here are five unanswered questions going into the game at Florida on Saturday (3 p.m. CT, SEC Network):

Who is Vanderbilt's starting QB: Ken Seals or AJ Swann?

Seals was serviceable in relief of AJ Swann. According to coach Clark Lea, Swann was "available" but was not designated either the starting or backup quarterback for the Missouri game. He is dealing with both an injury and a propensity to turn the ball over that has played a role in some of Vanderbilt's defeats.

Seals did a better job than Swann with game management, but Swann has a stronger arm and more mobility, qualities that could serve him well if he can improve his decision-making.

It's also unclear where Swann stands with his injury. Although he was performing poorly beforehand, his performance against Kentucky on Sept. 23 was enough of a drop-off from the others that the injury may have affected things, and Lea indicated that Swann is still not 100% healthy.

Will backup QB Walter Taylor get in more games?

Third-string quarterback Walter Taylor, a 6-foot-7 left-hander, has arm strength for days but is still very raw. Lea indicated after the Missouri game that he intends to have more packages for Taylor, but it's unclear what those will be. Taylor did get in for one wildcat package against Missouri.

Although it's easy to want to design packages for Taylor, using multiple quarterbacks is harder than it looks, as Vanderbilt found with QB Mike Wright (now at Mississippi State) a year ago.

Is there a solution for Vanderbilt's offensive line?

Amid the offensive line struggles, Vanderbilt has experimented with different options. Against Missouri, Bradley Ashmore started at right tackle with Kevo Wesley and Gage Pitchford at the two guard spots. Gunnar Hansen (left tackle) and Julian Hernandez (center) are the only spots that have stayed the same throughout the season.

Injuries haven't helped — right tackle Junior Uzebu has a longer-term lower-body injury, and Grayson Morgan, who has played both tackle and center, has dealt with a back issue that has led to inconsistent availability. Leyton Nelson, who served as a backup tackle in the preseason and has also spent some time at guard, also had a foot injury earlier in the season.

Ultimately, shuffling around the rotations hasn't helped to open up the run game, and especially if Morgan and Uzebu continue to deal with injuries, it's unclear whether anything will help given the current state of the roster.

KEN SEALS How Vanderbilt football QB Ken Seals turned travails into lessons AJ Swann can learn from

Is there an update on Kane Patterson's injury? What if he's out?

Patterson, a consistent presence at linebacker this season, went down with an injury in the second quarter. Lea didn't have an immediate update, saying Patterson still needed to get imaging, but it certainly seemed to be a significant injury as Patterson returned to the sideline on crutches after halftime.

Linebacker is a relatively deep position for Vanderbilt. Bryan Longwell took most of Patterson's snaps after halftime and has played well in the early going. Langston Patterson, Kane's brother, could also see an increased role.

How many more games will Vanderbilt football win?

Vanderbilt entered the season knowing its most winnable games would be in the first half of the schedule. Now, the Commodores have lost almost all of them.

Only two home games remain on the schedule, including one against No. 1 Georgia. The other one, against Auburn, is likely Vanderbilt's best chance of stealing a victory. The Commodores also have road games against Florida, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football starting QB update: Ken Seals or AJ Swann?