Commodores practice art of getting some but not too much love in the preseason polling wars

Sure, what matters most is having a highly ranked academic institution. But it's awfully nice to also have a football team capable of beating not-so-highly-ranked academic institutions.

Vandy fans know that the Commodores are getting bigger, faster, stronger, deeper and just plain more talented under Coach Bobby Johnson. While the Dores aren't going to be a national title contender any time soon, and winning in the SEC is always an uphill climb, fans feel like something special is happening in Nashville.

A couple of weeks ago, the USA Today poll was released and the selected coaches voting gave no love to Vanderbilt. We're used to that. We've been reading previews all summer that predict a cellar or near-cellar finish and a losing season for Vandy. That's fine. Even Sun Tzu in "The Art of War" stressed the importance of allowing your opponents to underestimate you. Let's face it, every team in the SEC who plays the Dores has that game penciled in as a win. (Miss State? Beat us last year. Kentucky? They just need to stop trying to block our punts.)

Anyway, a Vandy fan should never mind being underestimated. Of course, it also never hurts to get a small shout-out, which is what Vandy got in the newly released preseason AP poll, voted on by the media.

Here's how VU ranks in the SEC:

1. Florida (No. 1 in nation)

2. Alabama (No. 5)

3. Ole Miss (No. 8)

4. LSU (No. 11)

5. Georgia (No. 13)

6. Tennessee (No. 37)

7. Auburn (No. 41)

8. Vanderbilt (No. 45)

9. South Carolina (No. 49)

10. Arkansas (No. 50)

12. Kentucky (NR)

12. Miss State (NR)