Just saw where Sports Illustrated is picking Vandy to finish 1-11. I say the Commodores are going to finish 6-6. Really. Here's how:
1. Northwestern: Sure, the Wildcats are an academic school with a traditionally weak football team except for that trip to the Rose Bowl late last century. But this is a talented, well-coached team with a high-powered offense. We play hard and have some young kids do some good things, but we lose. NORTHWESTERN 27, VANDERBILT 17. (VU 0-1)
2. LSU: The Tigers are loaded and our linemen struggle on both sides of the ball. We get down early, put a bunch of guys into their first SEC game and avoid having a body bag game like we did last season when we lost Ryan Hamilton and James Williams for the season. We make it respectable in the end. LSU 26, VANDERBILT 14. (VU 0-2, 0-1 SEC)
3. At Ole Miss: Something about going to Oxford that's good for the team. Masoli gets thrown in jail the night before the game or just isn't ready to play and we catch the Rebels off guard, our offense clicks, and we win. VANDERBILT 27, OLE MISS 24. (VU 1-2, 1-1 SEC)
4. At Connecticut: Vanderbilt experiences its first mid-season bye in two years and has a great two weeks preparing for UConn. The young line continues to gel and Larry Smith looks like an SEC caliber quarterback, largely because he's finally got some SEC caliber receivers. VANDERBILT 31, UCONN 21. (VU 2-2, 1-1)
5. Eastern Michigan: This is the only game that Sports Illustrated and everybody else in America thinks we can win. And we do. Except it's our third victory of the season. VANDERBILT 30, EMU 10. (VU 3-2, 1-1)
6. At Georgia: The Dawgs are breaking in a freshman quarterback, and Vandy flirts with victory before falling in Athens. UGA 24, VANDERBILT 15. (VU 3-3, 1-2)
7. South Carolina: The Gamecocks have some serious firepower, and their freshman running back and big physical receivers are the difference. SC 27, VANDERBILT 20. (VU 3-4, 1-3)
8. At Arkansas: The Razorbacks drop out of the Top 25 after losses to Georgia, Alabama and Auburn, but they have superior physical talent and beat us in a shootout. ARKANSAS 38, VANDERBILT 27. (VU 3-5, 1-4)
9. Florida: A truly brutal pair of games for the Commodores. After returning from Fayetteville, they face a Florida team headed to yet another SEC championship game. FLORIDA 31, VANDERBILT 14. (VU 3-6, 1-5)
10. At Kentucky: With four straight losses, Coach Caldwell does something Bobby Johnson could never do: He leads Vandy to a late run, and it all starts in Lexington against a Wildcat team that's struggling. VANDERBILT 20, KENTUCKY 14. (VU 4-6, 2-5)
11. Tennessee: The Vols need to finish the season with a pair of wins to become bowl eligible but Larry Smith stages a thrilling rally and the Commodores win in Little Neyland. VANDERBILT 17, TENNESSEE 16. (VU 5-6, 3-5)
12. Wake Forest: Vandy does the unthinkable and finishes with three straight wins to become bowl eligible. VANDERBILT 31, WAKE FOREST 14. (VU 6-6, 3-5)
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7 comments:
What???? Only 6?????
Six felt like a stretch.
In answer to your 6/6:
At the height of my optimism, I'll take Vanderbilt 7 and 5 with a win over Northwestern. Remember, the Music City bowl team was put in the cellar by all the writers as well.
That is exactly what I was remembering. Remember, the Music City Bowl team went 6-6.
How many moral victories are you predicting this year? I like your optimism, particularly on having our offense score 14+ in each game, but I will be surprised / happy with 4 wins. Hope you are right though.
Figured the time to be optimistic was before the season starts.
It's tough to put any logic into these predictions. Two years ago, when we were deep into the loosing streak after the 5-0 start, Vanderbilt went to Lexington and with dead resolve,methodically put Kentucky away for the sixth win. Had it not been for two errors, Vanderbilt would have won by two more TD's. Who could have predicted that after losing to Duke, MSU?
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