The year was 1982.  The top song that year was "You've Got Another Thing Coming" by Judas Priest, and the top movie was An Officer and a Gentleman.  Twenty-six years ago, Vanderbilt went to their last bowl game—the Hall of Fame Bowl.

Now it is 2008.  The 'Dores are 2-0 and sitting atop the SEC Eastern Division, and with Rice coming to town on Saturday, Vandy is staring a 3-0 record right in the face.  That leaves them with only three wins left to reach the magic number of six, and most likely a quick drive down the road to Birmingham to the Papa Johns Bowl.

Let's go ahead and say Vandy does win this week and gets to 3-0 with nine games left on the schedule.  Can they win just three more games?  Let's take a week by week look into the crystal ball I don't have to see the future of a bowl game for the Commodores.

After Rice, the Doors travel to a very good Ole Miss team that gave Wake Forest all they wanted and then some on the road.  I'm going to go ahead and say they will suffer their first defeat of the season, bringing the record to 3-1 (1-1).

The next week will give them another week to think about it, being off after they play the Rebels.  Top 10 Auburn comes to town after that, bringing one of the best defenses in the country.  Sorry, Vandy fans: Win number four does not come this week either, as Vandy falls to 3-2 (1-2).

After the back to back SEC losses, it does not get any easier for the Commodores.  They hit the road for two games versus the Bulldogs of Mississippi State and Georgia.

I would say if the State game was at home, Vandy would come out on top, but since they have to travel to Starkville, and any game in the SEC on the road is very tough, I don't see a win here either.  That would drop Vandy to 3-3 (1-3), and it's not looking too much easier the next week going to Georgia.

I know two years ago Vandy pulled off the shocker and beat the Dawgs.  That's not going to happen this time around, and we are going to end that right there.  Vandy's now 3-4 (1-4).

Well, guess what.  Here comes a breath of fresh air: The Duke Blue Devils are coming to town.  This should get Vandy back on the winning track because, well, it's Duke, and they are the Vandy of the ACC, only worse.  Vandy gets back to .500 at 4-4 (1-4).

Let's not celebrate too much after this.  The All-American, Heisman trophy-winning, circumcising golden boy comes to town.  This one could get ugly, and ugly fast.  Florida should be in full force by midseason and on the way to a berth to the SEC Championship game.  'Dores lose big! Bringing the record below .500

4-5 (1-5)—that means only three games to go, and Vandy must win two of them to go bowling.

Now before the season I would say Vandy had a very good chance of beating Kentucky, but after the first two weeks of the season and the Wildcats only giving up 2.5 points per contest, and with also having to go on the road, I just don't see Vanderbilt coming out of the Bluegrass State with a win, dropping their record to 4-6 (1-6).

So now it comes down to this: the last two games of the season—Tennessee at home and Wake Forest on the road.  After watching how bad Tennessee looked in the opener versus UCLA, I'm going to have to go with Vandy in this one

Yes, I know what you are thinking: I have them losing to Ole Miss, Miss St., and Kentucky but beating Tennessee.  But Tennessee is bad, very bad, and at this point in the season Tennessee will be all but drained, so the 'Dores win!  5-6 (2-6).

It all comes down to this: the final game of the year, Nov. 29 at Wake Forest.  This is it.  Vandy fans, does the 26-year streak end today?  And that answer is...YES.

FINALLY the Commodores come together and pull off the biggest win in Vandy football history since good ol' Watson Brown beat the Crimson Tide, and they send Vandy bowling for the first time since 1982!  Final record 6-6 (2-6).

Oh yeah, on a side note all the pizza you can eat...only if it's from Papa Johns.  See you in Birmingham, Vandy.

Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack or SEC Power Poll.com

Week 2

After another weekend of excitement, here’s my ballot for this week in the SEC Power Poll.

Here they are, in all their radiant glory:

I imagine I will catch the ire of some of the Arkansas fans, among others, this week but I’m used to being wrong.  As always, feel free to let me know where I am wrong or right.  Final ballots are due by Wednesday, so don’t take too long…

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack or SEC Power Poll.com.  I’ll post the final poll results once it is released later in the week.

More later today, once I get a chance to come up for air…

– Go Figure …

---

Gate 21 Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Arkansas Razorbacks, Auburn Tigers, Bobby Johnson, College Football, Florida Gators, Gate 21, Georgia Bulldogs, Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, LSU Tigers, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Ole Miss Rebels, SEC, SEC Football, SEC Power Poll, South Carolina Gamecocks, Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, Steve Spurrier, Tennessee Football, Tennessee Vols, Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt Commodores, Wake Forest Demon Deacons

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The Gamecocks came into Thursday night's SEC opener with one thing one their mind. Vengeance. But instead, Vanderbilt showed the nation that last year's upset in Columbia was anything but a fluke.

Vanderbilt did what most Commodore teams in the past could never do, and that was hold a lead. Vandy couldn't do it last year against Tennessee or plenty of other times in the past.

That would not be the case on Thursday night. Vandy took a 24-10 lead with roughly nine minutes remaining in regulation off of a bruising 13-yard run up the gut by junior Jared Hawkins.

South Carolina would threaten to treat Vandy to another humiliating loss, but instead Vandy's defense held strong by sacking South Carolina quarterback Chris Smelley twice on South Carolina's last chance to tie the game.

Thursday night's win shows that Vandy is ready to get to the next level in the SEC. One thing that sets apart the SEC from many other conferences is the quality of defenses. Well, Vandy might arguably have one of the best in the SEC.

On Thursday night, Vandy's defense bent, but didn't break. The defense forced three turnovers and sacked Smelley four times. That defense will need to show up each and every week if Vandy wants to see its first bowl bid in over two decades.

Things are definitely looking up for the Commodores, especially if you look at the schedule. They still have home games against Rice and Duke, which should be easy wins. Combine that with games on the road against Kentucky, who is rebuilding, and Mississippi St. and Ole Miss. If Vandy can win just two of those three games, then they will reach the magic number of six wins to get to a bowl game.

Vanderbilt does have a nasty history of starting strong before imploding during the months of October and November.

Just go back and look at 2005 when Vandy started 4-0 before losing to lowly Middle Tennessee State on a blocked field goal, which would ultimately keep them from a bowl bid.

When you're Vanderbilt, you have nowhere to go but up, and that's just what the kids from the Music City are slowly doing here in 2008.

As the South Carolina-Vanderbilt game was set to begin on ESPN, a video of Vanderbilt's head coach, Bobby Johnson, appeared on the screen.  Rece Davis, of ESPN, jokingly said, "Steve Martin."  Everyone laughed.  Not because Bobby Johnson is a joke—but because Bobby Johnson does look a lot like Steve Martin.  (And just between you and me, wink wink, it is because some people still think of Vanderbilt as a joke.)

Once the game started and ESPN was setting the stage for the game, Chris Fowler mentioned that Vanderbilt defeated No. 6 South Carolina last year to begin the regular season.  Impossible!  Surely they were joking.  

On an early play, a Vanderbilt tailback hit an opening at the line at full speed.  Unfortunately, he brushed an offensive lineman as he darted through the hole.  After a brief sojourn into the air, he hit the ground without having been touched by the South Carolina defense.  On another play he was completely engulfed by South Carolina.

The ESPN crew said the tailback's height was 5'7" and then jokingly said, "That might be generous."  But it was no joke—a man with a big heart was heading full speed into the line on every play.

A line from the movie The Godfather: Part II came to my mind at that point.  As Michael Corleone was chatting with Hyman Roth, he mentioned that he had just seen a Cuban rebel pull a pin on a grenade and blow himself up just to kill a few of the government's army officers.  Hyman Roth asked him, "What does that tell you?"  Michael Corleone answered, "It means they could win."

South Carolina loomed large in comparison.  Their National Championship coach was intense.  As the first quarter played out, South Carolina appeared to be the bigger, better team.

Surely it was only a matter of time before they beat Vanderbilt down to Vanderbilt size and went home with the "W" that their fans had already confidently marked on their schedules weeks ago.

Of course, marking a schedule with a "W" before a win is a joke—especially against a team that beat your team the year before at your place.  And what's that old adage, "Speed is the great equalizer."  Sure, South Carolina was bigger, and they had a swagger about them—but they were not faster.

On defense, the Commodores were torpedoes blowing up the Great Visor's plays before they could develop.  It's not a joke.  Speed kills—and these Commodores were, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead."

I had commented to someone yesterday that I thought Bobby Johnson was one of the most underappreciated coaches in all of college football.  Vanderbilt is never listed among the top teams of the SEC as having the best recruiting classes, and yet they manage to beat a ranked South Carolina two years in a row.  They have also taken down Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia in the past few years. 

However, Bobby Johnson teams are not undermanned against the more talented teams of the SEC.  A Bobby Johnson team has plenty of men playing for him—oftentimes more so even than his opponents.

Perhaps the next time Rece catches a glimpse of Steve Martin, he'll quip, "Bobby Johnson."

Now stop me if you've heard this one before: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog..."

Thursday night was a monumental night in Nashville, TN for the Vanderbilt Commodores.  They defeated No. 24 South Carolina 24-17 to score their first home win over a ranked opponent since they upended No. 25 Mississippi State in 1992.

With their 2-0 start, the Commodores are looking for their first winning season since 1982, a streak that is the longest in the BCS.

While this win is impressive because of the time it took to achieve it, there are plenty of black clouds looming overhead for anyone who is getting too high, too soon on this Cinderella story.

The Commodores managed only 225 yards against the South Carolina defense while giving up 325.  They only passed for 90 yards in the win, and at times their offense looked like it was absolutely going nowhere.

They also may have been the lucky beneficiaries of a little thing the college football experts like to call "being overlooked."

After losing to Vanderbilt last season, the Gamecocks seemed to shrug it off as a fluke loss.  So what did they do?  They went out and did the exact same thing this year.

For those of you who would argue that they were a ranked team and that Vandy was the better team on the field today, consider this: Yes, the Gamecocks were lackluster in their victory last week over North Carolina State.  Yes, they had four turnovers.  Yes, their offense looked far too weak against a clearly inferior team.

All of these things were warning signs that the gang from Columbia was ripe for a fall—and fall they did.

Now, this isn't to discount Vanderbilt's effort in this game.  They scrapped, fought, and bled to beat the Gamecocks, and that shows the grit and determination that 25 straight losing seasons can bring.

Before everyone starts crowning Vandy as this year's Illinois, however, there is one thing standing in their way—and it will prove an insurmountable obstacle.

Their schedule.

As the lucky members of the SEC East that they are, Vandy gets the pleasure of facing Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee every year.  This season they also get to play Wake Forest, Auburn, and Mississippi State.  Oh, and they get to travel to Lexington to face a Kentucky squad that dismantled Louisville last week.

Without further ado, here is my take on what the rest of their season holds.

vs. Rice: Win (3-0)

at Mississippi: Loss (3-1)

vs. Auburn: Loss (3-2)

at Mississippi State: Loss (3-3)

at Georgia: Loss (3-4)

vs. Duke: Win (4-4)

vs. Florida: Loss (4-5)

at Kentucky: Loss (4-6)

vs. Tennessee: Loss (4-7)

at Wake Forest: Loss (4-8)

On the Commodores' side in this schedule is the fact that they get to play Florida, Auburn, and Tennessee at home.  They also get to play Duke (always a bonus on the gridiron).

I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up winning at least two of those four games (if Tennessee's lackluster performance against UCLA is any indication, they could be ripe for an upset), and if they beat Florida or Auburn, they could be serious contenders for a bowl spot.

If tonight's game is any indication, this season will be an improvement—but still not quite up to Cinderella level just yet.

South Carolina @ Vanderbilt
Thur 8:30 ET ESPN
Line: SC -9.5
Over/Under: 40.5

Both teams won their season openers convincingly last Thursday night. South Carolina will look to avenge a 17-6 loss in Columbia last season which began their five game slide to end the season.
Keys to the Game

1. Put South Carolina QB in Tough Spots

Last year, Vandy sacked South Carolina QB Chris Smelley 7 times and picked off 2 of his passes. South Carolina does not look like they have solved their interception woes as starter Tommy Beecher threw 4 picks last week against NC State. Vanderbilt needs a good pass rush and good coverage like they had last year to win this game. South Carolina needs to counter the Vandy rush with a solid running game from Mike Davis to slow the Vandy pass rush.

2. Make Chris Nickson One-Dimensional

Nickson was the on again, off again starter last season and secured the job for the first game this season responding with over 100 yards rushing, 2 rush TDs, and a pass TD. If Nickson is made into more of a one-dimensional QB he will not be nearly as successful because he could not even nail down the starting job last season. It should be easier to slow down his rushing ability with a spy and less blitzing and make him beat you with the pass. Vandy needs to come with a ground game from their backs to keep Carolina's front seven honest.

Prediction

I know South Carolina has more talent than Vanderbilt. But I also know the Commodores are a very tough team at home in SEC play. I think South Carolina will struggle again on offense and their defense will bail them out of a tight game in the 4th quarter.

South Carolina 20 Vanderbilt 13
Vandy Covers, Under

Week 1 Results
ATS: 2-0
O/U: 2-0
SU: 1-1

Other Week 2 Predictions

5. Offensive Ineptitude

South Carolina blanked NC State last week, but it sure wasn't pretty.  I think that was the ugliest 34-0 game I have ever seen.

Tommy Beecher was awful before getting cold-cocked (no pun intended), throwing four interceptions and missing open receivers.  Chris Smelley came into the game late and cleaned up the position somewhat, completing all five attempted passes, including two touchdowns.

South Carolina struggled most of the night to move the ball down the field against a less talented Wolfpack defense, and Vandy's defense is a lot better and faster than NC State's.  I think SC will struggle moving the ball in the first half regardless of who the QB is.

4. Chris Nickson

Chris Nickson's passing stats from the Miami of Ohio opener won't dazzle anyone—nine for 16 with a touchdown—but he made no mistakes with the football and was able to march his team down the field consistently to put points on the board.

Oh yeah, and Nickson had 166 yards rushing on 20 carries and two touchdowns.  That's pretty remarkable, even if it is against a middle of the road MAC opponent.

SC's defense looked tough against NC State, but I don't think they will be able to keep Nickson in the pocket all night.  He'll make plays on the outside, just like last week.

3. D.J. Moore

This kid can just flat-out play.  He will be playing on Sundays next year—and those occasional Thursdays, and Saturdays...you get my point.  Moore will lock down on McKinley and other SC receivers all night, cutting down Smelley's options and forcing short throws and throws into coverage.

He is also a gamebreaker on special teams, and I wouldn't be surprised if he broke one tonight.  He just missed scoring on a punt return last week.

2. Vandy beat them last year

Let's not forget, Vandy went into Williams-Brice last year and physically dominated a similar SC team.  This time Steve Spurrier and the boys come to Nashville, and I don't see it any differently than last year.  I think too many people sleep on the 'Dores, and SC will see firsthand again why they shouldn't.

1. USC plays Georgia next week

All the SEC heard all offseason long was how good Georgia was going to be.  SC will be the first SEC team to get their shot, and after last year's upset in Athens, you've got to believe they are already licking their chops in Columbia for the matchup.

Tonight's game would be very easy for the Gamecocks to look past and dismiss as a win and start thinking about them Dawgs.

I don't think Spurrier has a disciplined enough team to keep that from happening, and I therefore think this is the number one reason why Vandy will escape with a win tonight—lack of focus.  I just think SC will be looking ahead to Georgia and not worrying about Vandy.

So there you go.  I didn't even throw in the fact that it is a Thursday night ESPN primetime game.  Vandy rarely gets the privilege of appearing on ESPN in prime time, let alone at home.  The atmosphere should be electric (by Vanderbilt standards anyways).

Vandy wins tonight.  Close.  24-21.  You heard it here first.

It used to be that you could count on death, taxes, and Vanderbilt losing.

And granted, the 'Dores haven't played in a bowl game since the Reagan Administration, have never threatened in the SEC East and probably won't again this year.  A handful of upsets along the way are all Vandy's had to show for its football program at a university without an athletic department.

Bobby Johnson took over in 2002, and the above facts haven't changed.  No bowls.  No winning seasons.  A few upsets to pass the time.

But even if the Commodores haven't won the war, they're winning some battles along the way.

Good players like Jay Cutler and Earl Bennett have come through Nashville under Johnson, and Vandy has flirted with a breakthrough.  Last season, though they still finished outside the bowl landscape, they won five games.  Which wasn't anything new in the last few years.

But they won those five games by an average of almost 17 points.  That was new.

Granted, they played Richmond, Eastern Michigan and Miami (OH).  But they also beat Ole Miss and South Carolina by double digits.  Even if they weren't winning six, they weren't finding a way to lose all the time.  Even if you couldn't take them seriously, you couldn't take them for granted either.

However, graduation losses, especially the departure of WR Earl Bennett, made many this offseason say that Johnson had missed his window and it would be back to the doldrums in 2008.

And maybe it still will be.  But on the first night of the college football season, Vanderbilt made a point.

It's still a small point, and those outside the SEC and Miami (OH) may not understand it,  but when the 'Dores went on the road tonight and ran for 275 yards and won by three touchdowns 34-13, they proved that maybe it's not just the every now and again surge of talent with a player like Bennett, and it's definitely not a fluke.

Vanderbilt has made progress.  Real progress.

A team that was supposed to be the old Vanderbilt instead won a road game by three touchdowns.  And Miami (OH) isn't Miami (FL), who isn't regular FL, whom the 'Dores will see along with the rest of the SEC East soon enough.  But the RedHawks aren't terrible either, and Vandy was impressive.  Or at least they were impressive enough.

QB Chris Nickson won't win the Heisman, but his day with 138 yards rushing and playing mistake-free in the passing game was great.  The Commodores picked off three passes.  They did what they had to do to win and win comfortably, which used to be the polar opposite of a program that would do anything it took to lose.

So maybe Vandy goes 1-11.  Maybe they miss another bowl game.  And maybe another talent like Cutler or Bennett doesn't roll around again.  But tonight proves, at the very least, that even without those marquee players, Bobby Johnson has progressed this program away from the automatic circled victory on the opposition's schedule to a team you have to look twice at. 

The steps may be small, but they are steps nonetheless.  Johnson has done a good job.  Vanderbilt cannot be taken for granted.

And if that can happen at Vanderbilt, it can happen anywhere.

Joseph will be breaking down each of the 2008 Florida Gators' opponents and making predictions game by game. Please feel free to give your input and make your opinions known throughout the series by commenting below.

Game Nine vs. Vanderbilt, November 8

Info: The Vanderbilt Commodores got off to a great start 2007. After winning five of their first eight games, Vandy was on the cusp of their first bowl bid since 1982.

However, the Commodores had yet another disappointing end to their season, dropping their final four games to finish at 5-7. Once again, Vanderbilt was left on the outside looking in during bowl season.

Offseason: Vanderbilt lost eight starters from last season’s offense, including three time All-SEC wide receiver Earl Bennett. Bennett, the all time SEC leader in receptions (236), was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

On the recruiting trail, head coach Bobby Johnson struggled, but managed to sign a respectable class. Three star recruits linebacker DeAndre Jones and wide receiver John Cole headlined Johnson’s 2008 class. Rivals.com ranked Vanderbilt 90^th on their annual list of the nation's top recruiting classes.

2008 Outlook: Vanderbilt is currently in re-building mode and will struggle through a tough SEC schedule in 2008. The Commodores travel to play at No. 1 Georgia, No. 23 Wake Forest, and Mississippi State. The home slate doesn’t get any easier, with visits from No. 5 Florida, No. 18 Tennessee, and No. 11 Auburn.

Vanderbilt will also welcome Coach David Cutcliffe and Duke to Nashville for the "2008 Scholastic Bowl."

As for Vanderbilt, their greatest strength lays in the secondary, led by preseason All-SEC defensive back D.J. Moore. Moore will lead a unit that finished 18th and 16th nationally in pass defense and total defense, respectively.

As for the offense, the major spotlight will be on the quarterback competition between senior Chris Nickson and junior Mackenzie Adams. Nickson began 2007 as Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback, but struggled with the injury bug throughout the season.

As for Adams, he started the last six games of the year for the injured Nickson, recording a 2-4 record during that stretch.

Nickson will begin the season as Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback, but Adams will see plenty of action for the Commodores in 2008.

Game Prediction: Florida 52, Vanderbilt 17

The Gators travel to Nashville after a big win over Georgia in the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”

Will the Gators suffer a letdown against Vanderbilt? Not likely.

Vandy’s talented secondary will prove tough against Florida’s passing attack early, but Florida’s four-headed monster at running back, led by tailback Chris Rainey, will keep the Commodore defense guessing.

The much improved running game will open up the offense for Tim Tebow to lead Florida to a blowout victory over Vanderbilt.

As for the other side of the ball, the Florida defense will come out firing on all cylinders, oozing with confidence after the big win over the ‘Dawgs. Look for the Commodores to struggle in the run game due to the Gator pass rush, led by defensive ends Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap.

The Gators are now 9-0 and will head back to Gainesville for a matchup with Steve Spurrier and South Carolina in “the Swamp.” The Gamecocks, once again, will have an opportunity to spoil Florida’s title hopes at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Hawaii | Miami (FL) | Tennessee | Ole Miss | Recap, Games 1-4 | Arkansas | LSU | Kentucky | Georgia | Recap, Games 5-8 | Vanderbilt | South Carolina | The Citadel | Florida State | SEC Championship| Bowl game

A long time ago, I had a discussion with a friend of mine about SEC fans with the most heartbreak year-in and year-out.

At the start of our discussion, we both agreed that in so many words, the Vanderbilt Commodores, once the cause celebre of my friend Kasi, is the team that has the most heartbreak every year.

In 76 years of membership in the Southeastern Conference, the Commodores has never won an SEC championship. In fact, the last time Vanderbilt won a conference title was in 1923 while members of the Southern Conference.

That was also the year that my Aunt Dot was born, meaning that she was actually alive when Vanderbilt football was successful.

And if you know your SEC history, the last time Vanderbilt made it to a bowl game was back in 1982, two years before I was even born when they took on Air Force in the Hall of Fame Bowl.

For a lot of schools, 5-6 records are good reasons for coaches to get canned at football powerhouses like Alabama or Texas (Mack Brown, you better thank God you haven't finished 5-6 in Austin).

But if you're at Vanderbilt, 5-6 grants you job security because you, the coach, have led Vanderbilt's gridiron warriors to bowl contention only to come up short at the hands of State U.

Ouch.

Come Thursday when Vanderbilt heads to Miami (Ohio), the hope that Commodore fans—as well as my aforementioned friend Kasi—hold for the 2008 season will still be there, even if deep down in their hearts they know for a fact that it's going to be another long year in the Music City for the Black and Gold.

But then again, what did they say in the borough where they hang pictures of Biggie?

Wait 'til next year.