Posts Tagged ‘college football’
It really is just a game
There’s nothing like learning that thousands of people have died in a natural disaster to remind you that a football coach changing jobs just isn’t that big of a deal.
I think all of us who are sports fans can use a wake-up call every now and then, though this certainly wouldn’t have been the one I recommended. My thoughts go out to everyone affected by last night’s earthquake in Haiti.
Tags: college football, earthquake, haiti, haiti earthquake, lane-kiffin, nashville, tennessee
Jermaine Doster needs a hand, and quick
I’m certain that arrests and suspensions are among the last things that the late Kwame Doster, a beloved Vanderbilt running back, would have wanted for his kid brother. It’s been a long time since the good news that Jermaine Doster would follow in his brother’s footsteps by becoming a Commodore, and the younger Doster is fading fast.
It may already be too late, but someone needs to reach out to this troubled young man and help him stop self destructing. Even if Jermaine never plays another down of football, the last thing the Doster family needs is another brother to mourn.
Tags: college football, jermaine doster, kwame doster, nashville, southeastern conference, tennessee, the city paper, the tennessean, vanderbilt, vanderbilt commodores
Compassion: It’s almost as exhausting as the alternative
- While the rest of us routinely suffer from “compassion fatigue,” Virginia Trimble Ritter finds a way to forgive a murderer. That’s a remarkable and inspiring example.
- Speaking of compassion, Clarksville mayor Johnny Piper could use a little more right now. Most Muslims aren’t violent, hateful people, and neither are most Christians.
- On the subject of fatigue, Vandy’s nonstop football schedule may be tiring, but it may also be beneficial. A team that has struggled mightily with consistency, despite its recent success, may fare better without bye weeks to stall its momentum.
- College hijinks aren’t just for drunks anymore. This story sounds strange enough until you consider that these students were actually sober the entire time. Now that’s weird.
Tags: barack obama, campus crusade for christ, clarksville, college football, compassion, forgiveness, intolerance, islam, jerome barrett, johnny piper, knoxville, marcia trimble, nashville, tennessee, vanderbilt, virginia trimble ritter
Vandy’s Moore may be much faster than Florida’s Harvin
I’d much rather have Vanderbilt’s D.J. Moore on my roster than Florida’s Percy Harvin, and I hope the Titans feel the same way. One reason is that Moore is more likely to stay on whichever roster he joins.
Harvin may not be headed for PacMan Jones territory, but since he’s already failed a league drug test that was announced with plenty of advance notice, he may have plenty in common with former Titan Travis Henry. Harvin is likely to be a recurring headache for the team that chooses him. I think Tennessean commenter fanman22 makes a valid observation about the significance of players’ 40-yard-dash times, too:
The biggest flaw in the 40-yard timing is that it does not take into account “game speed”. Rarely will a player ever have a 40 yard sprint on the football field. DJ plays fast. He has tremendous recovery speed. He will be a solid pro wherever he ends up.
Moore is now likely to be drafted in the second round than the first, and he may well be a bargain in that spot in hindsight. No matter where he winds up, I have a feeling he’ll be much faster than Harvin–because he’ll be on the field. Harvin may not be for long.
Tags: college football, d.j. moore, nashville, nfl, nfl draft, percy harvin, sports, tennessee titans, vanderbilt university
If you pick the Dores, will Vandy show up?
It looks like Vanderbilt will end its 26-season bowl drought with an appearance in the Music City Bowl, a game that didn’t even exist until 1998. While there ss an outside chance that Dores may land in Memphis for the Liberty Bowl, but it appears that the MCB will truly have a “home” team for the first time in its history when bowl selections are finalized tomorrow.
There are plenty of opinions about whether Vandy’s first postseason since 1982 should be spent here in Davidson County. More than a few college football fans think that the Dores shouldn’t be going bowling at all, much less down the street from campus:
DinaDog: These are tough economic times. Those downtown establishments count on that Music City Bowl money. If Vanderbilt ends up being the Music City Bowl choice, that means instead of bringing two visiting teams to our city, the Bowl brings only one team and cuts everything in half. That’s devastating to those downtown businesses. Cutting into their sales dollars cuts into our tax revenues. Choosing Vanderbilt for that bowl is just bad business for the citizens of Nashville and the state of Tennessee. I know that is not why they have bowls or invite teams. I guess that shouldn’t play into their decision making, but that is the reality of the result of the decision to put Vanderbilt in the Music City Bowl.
rickshaw: I would have been completely satisfied with a six and six record if they had substituted a win at Duke and Miss State and Tennessee for losses at South Carolina, Auburn and Mississippi. Something about the way they waddled into six and six leaves one rather cold about this team. I am afraid that this team will wind up losing seven out of eight and extending their years of being a losing football program. A rather bizarre prospect indeed!
mlvalue: While it may be true for most schools, there is a lot of interest for Vandy fans. Vandy is unique, being in a conference with large state powerhouses. Vandy is a small private school, and what they did this year is pretty good, considering what they are up against. Besides the Music City Bowl will attract a pretty good size crowd. Go Vandy!
82cat: I’m sure the merchants down town are not happy to say the least. It virtually assures half of the business they would get from a well traveled out of town team wont be there especially the hotels. Nothing against VU heck 6-6 whatever when you have only been to 3 bowls go for it. When Kentucky played Clemson a few yrs agos 2nd avenue was packed the night before and the game was sold out. How many fans will vandy bring to the game?
AL2476: I don’t care who the team is or where they are located, a 6-6 team should not be rewarded to be in a bowl game. Also there are too many bowl games being played now and it is losing it’s interest to fans as well. Just look at attendance at many of the bowls being played this year and you will notice little interest in these minor bowls.
It should be noted that the Music City Bowl has had very good attendance for nearly all of the 10 games in its history. It can be debated whether there are too many bowls or whether a winning record should be required to qualify. Like it or not, though, fan support factors in to team selections for virtually every bowl game except the BCS Championship.
The MCB is obligated by contract to select an eligible SEC team, which will likely be Vandy, tomorrow, but whether Dores fans will follow down West End remains to be seen. From a glass-is-half-full perspective, Vandy is finally going to play in another bowl game. On the half-empty side, the Dores are an inconsistent team that somehow turned a 5-0 start into a 6-6 finish.
There have been several games during this strange-but-successful season where fans have had to wonder whether Vandy was going to show up. On New Year’s Eve, Nashville may be wondering the same thing about both the Dores and their fans. Here’s hoping the Commodore crew has a good showing in the stands and on the field. Go Dores!
Tags: college football, music city bowl, nashville, the tennessean, vanderbilt, vanderbilt commodores
Vandy’s season a success and a failure
Was Vanderbilt’s football season a success or a failure? If you ask me, I say “yes.” No one expected the Commodores to become bowl eligible for the first time in 26 years this season, but Vandy’s inconsistent play after a 5-0 start likely left two or even three wins on the table.
If nothing else, the Dores kept their fans and opponents guessing, especially in the second half of the season. Breaking down the year, Vandy maintained its status quo (2-2) in beating Miami of Ohio and Rice and losing to Georgia and Florida. The Dores exceeded expectations (4-0) in upsetting South Carolina, Ole Miss, Auburn and Kentucky, the last of which was the team’s most convincing performance of the season. Vandy suffered letdowns (0-4) in losses against Mississppi State and Duke and against surprisingly vulnerable Tennessee and Wake Forest squads. Looking back, the Duke debacle was the bottom of the barrel for a season with plenty of highs and lows.
How in the world did this Commodore crew eke out a 6-6 record and do what so many of its predecessors couldn’t? Its offense capitalized, most of the time, on opponents’ turnovers, and its defense made big stops when it needed them most, at least in the first half of the year. It survived severely inconsistent quarterback play and a “little offense that couldn’t” on far too many occasions.
Who knows what to make of such a crazy campaign as the one the Dores waged in 2008, whether it forecasts future bowl appearances or a prompt return to seasons with five wins or fewer. This much can be said: Vandy delivered way more than most expected in August and followed through on far less than looked likely by early October. The good news is that there’s one game left to play. Go Dores!
Tags: college football, nashville, vanderbilt, vanderbilt commodores
Vandy a great underdog, lousy favorite
Could Vanderbilt have Wake Forest right where they want them? The Demon Deacons are favored by four points heading into tonight’s game in Winston-Salem against the Commodores. Taking a look at Vandy’s season so far, that may be good news for the crew from West End.
Vanderbilt is 5-2 this season as an underdog, but only 1-3 as a favorite. Here’s how the Dores have fared against the spread in 2008:
Miami, Ohio: Underdog Vandy wins 34-13
South Carolina: Underdog Vandy wins 24-17
Rice: Favored Vandy wins 38-21
Ole Miss: Underdog Vandy wins 23-17
Auburn: Underdog Vandy wins 14-13
Miss State: Favored Vandy loses 17-14
Georgia: Underdog Vandy loses 24-14
Duke: Favored Vandy loses 10-7
Florida: Underdog Vandy loses 42-14
Kentucky: Underdog Vandy wins 31-24
Tennessee: Favored Vandy loses 20-10
The Jekyll-and-Hide Dores have looked both awful and amazing at times this season. Upon further inspection, though, there does seem to be a pattern: Vandy plays well as a road underdog and plays horribly as a home favorite. That may be good news for the team and its fans tonight. Go Dores!
Tags: college football, nashville, vanderbilt, vanderbilt commodores, wake forest, wake forest demon deacons
Early survey on UT hire: Are you Kiffin me?
An early and admittedly unscientific survey on WSMV.com (above) suggests Vols fans aren’t too pleased about their incoming head coach. Opinions continue to come in across the Web, and most (but not all) mirror the survey:
boxtop: [A]re you kiffin me? Pete Carroll’s (former) lap dog? Hamilton should get his resume together yesterday. Nevermind, no one will hire him after this fiasco. Urban must be saying an additional “thank you prayer” this year. And Bobby Johnson is probabaly thinking he can get used to having the best college football team in Tennessee now that Phil isn’t around to beat his teams anymore. Welcome to the real world of “competitive college football” Coach Kiffin. This ain’t the pac-10. Also…congrats Fla on your upcoming SEC and National Championships.
Jeepers: Vols will be a bust with Kiffin as they were with Fat Phil. Good.
jeffmacguy: The more I hear about this guy, the more I like him. However, he as unfinished business in the NFL and at some point in his life, he will want to close that loop. That’s ok. We need someone who is willing to work/adapt to win and Lane may just be the guy!
This is likely a sampling of the upcoming nine months of discussions about Kiffin’s outlook for success in Knoxville, but this much is already clear: He’s got plenty of pressure waiting for him next fall at Neyland.
Tags: college football, knoxville, lane-kiffin, phil-fulmer, tennessee, tennessee-volunteers, university-of-tennessee
