Vanderbilt’s bowl chances looking good
Vanderbilt takes a bow and JoePa takes a seat. Week 6 of the college football season brought a return to normalcy — everywhere except Nashville, that is.
Vanderbilt did it again, finding a way to beat Auburn 14-13 on Saturday night and upping its record to 5-0 and earning a curtain call from its fans. The last time to the Commodores were 5-0 was 1943, when they played a shortened schedule because of World War II that included two victories over Tennessee Tech.
The latest victory helped push Vanderbilt up to No. 13 in the AP Top 25. Which means Vandy now ranks higher in the AP football poll than it does in U.S. News and World Report’s list of top academic universities, where it’s tied for 18th with Notre Dame.
Vandy is 3-0 in the SEC and leading a division with Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Somewhere Dan McGugin is smiling. For those who don’t keep up with turn of the century SEC coaches, McGugin ruled over Vandy’s greatest gridiron success.
From 1904-34, he went 197-55-19 — and the Commodores just haven’t been the same since. The 16 coaches who have followed McGugin are 284-468-24.
Current Vandy coach Bobby Johnson knows his history. When it was suggested by a reporter that the Auburn victory was the greatest in school history, he reminded everyone about McGugin’s teams.
“I don’t know where this one ranks. Back when Dan McGugin was the coach, his teams beat teams 150-0,” Johnson said.
He was only exaggerating a little. In 1915, Vandy beat Mississippi 91-0 and followed it up a week later with a 35-0 victory over Tennessee.
These Commodores aren’t quite so dominant. Vanderbilt ranks in the back half of the SEC in most offensive and defensive categories.
The key has been turnover ratio. Vandy is No. 1 in the country at plus 1.80 per game. Also, Vanderbilt has been among the least penalized teams in the land.
“We still have a lot of work. We can improve in so many ways and we’re going to try and get better,” Johnson said.
The Commodores don’t beat themselves and take advantage of the other team’s mistakes.
Eventually, the Gators and Bulldogs will pass Vanderbilt in the SEC East, but the first winning season and bowl appearance by the Commodores since 1982 is looking good.
At 81 years old, coming off a broken leg and nursing a sore hip, Joe Paterno is having a difficult time roaming the sideline.
JoePa watched his team’s 20-6 victory over Purdue from the press box Saturday. It’s the second time this season he’s had to take to the box because standing was too uncomfortable.
There were already plenty of signs pointing toward Paterno’s possible departure from coaching after this season. He doesn’t have a contract for next year and recruits have reportedly been told the next coach will be a member of his staff. Penn State president Graham Spanier seems intent on being the man to oversee the changing of the guard.
Sitting at No. 6 in the nation, Penn State (6-0) is poised for a run at the Big Ten title, maybe even a national championship. At the very least, the Nittany Lions should be on their way to a nine- or 10-win season. Even all the off-field problems Penn State players have had over the past couple of seasons are being overshadowed by the team’s success.
The stage is perfectly set for Paterno to walk away on top after this season.