Sunday, October 5, 2008

Biggest Win in School History?



It was a glorious and historic night in Commodore Nation as Vanderbilt knocked off Auburn in a 14-13 nailbiter that required a superbly clutch performance by Mackenzi Adams when Chris Nickson went down with a shoulder (re)injury, and where the difference in the game was a mere missed extra point. A lot of streaks ended last night on Dudley Field: first time since 1943 to be 5-0, first time to beat Auburn since 1955, 3-0 in the SEC for the first time since 1950...

So the questions on our minds as we revel in victory are these:

1) Is this the biggest win in school history?

2) What does this do for recruiting -- not just for football, but for the college in general?

3) What happens to the expectations for the program after a win like this?

A "new day" for Vanderbilt football indeed.

5 comments:

Bobby O'Shea said...

1. Yes. This is also one of the biggest days for the university as a whole. Yesterday was a showcase of the school.

The crowd was rabid during GameDay, a serious factor during the game (especially the second half), and they won...while all of the country was watching.

This is the kind of a game that (can) lift a program to another level. When the ranking are released in a few hours, that will be reflected.

2. This will be huge for recruiting. Vanderbilt looks like a school that players should WANT to attend. ESPN GameDay? Check. Top 15 program playing in the SEC? Check. The opportunity to have your talents showcased for the NFL? Check.

3. Anything less than a bowl is now completely unacceptable.

Anonymous said...

I help out with recruiting and there was somewhere between 30 and 40 recruits at the game last night....usually there are more like 15. What a great one for them to see. They were all really excited to be there- for many this was not their first visit (and after last night, I am betting that we will see many of them again). This kind of success will be huge for recruiting.

whiffer said...

go 'dores!

Stanimal said...

1) I would say modern school history. I wouldn't say total. But there is no doubt that this is Vandy's biggest victory in 50 years. Even greater than the 1982 bowl team, and I mean no disrespect to that group. For one, we are 5-0 for the first time in 50 years, for another, 3-0 in the SEC for the first time in 50 years, we won our first game as a ranked team since WWII, and we knocked off Auburn for the first time in 12 tries.

But for another, this game symbolized that we can compete at the highest level in SEC, something which many pundits said we'd never be able to do. Which leads into the answer to number 2....

2) This is ENORMOUS for recruiting and enormous for the school, but mostly for recruiting at this point. Vandyc's statement above is so encouraging, you get that number of recruits to see a game like that in an atmosphere like that and countless others across the nation to see a game like that, hell, I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want to be a part of it. At the very least some of the bigger fish, especially in the state, will look at Vandy and say they can compete for an SEC championship.

3) I honestly think that in a year like this, you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. I can't say that there aren't certain expectations for the rest of the year (beating teams we should and can beat such as Miss. St. and Duke) but I am loving just taking it one game at a time and watching us beat teams with sound, smart football. Let's get to 6-0 next week!

Gator said...

How can this NOT be huge for Vandy recruiting? This team has finally turned the corner, is sitting at 5-0 and on TOP of the SEC East. The worst case scenario: Vandy are the TN State Champions lol.