VANDERBILT COMMODORES
Coach: Bobby Johnson
2007: 5-7 overall, 2-6 in the SEC
Head of the Class: Vanderbilt seems to have made peace with being a respectable, competitive loser in the SEC. Let's accentuate the positive: these guys are not doormats. They're never going to have the depth and talent of LSU, Florida, Alabama, or Georgia, but head coach Bobby Johnson has helped build a team that will sneak up and beat one of the better teams each year.
Underachievers: The returning strength of Vandy's team - despite no longer having a big name player like Earl Bennett - is its defense, returning more players from that upper-middle of the pack defense than anywhere else. For Vandy to stay in games, this group is going to have to stay healthy and be in the best physical condition of their life. They're going to be on the field all day long. How they hold up under that kind of duress will determine the team's fate.
Academic Suspension: Only three starters return on offense and this just in - Vandy didn't win the recruiting wars. The 'Dores are going to have a lot of unfamiliar names logging significant playing time on both sides of the ball.
BOLD PREDICTION: Ohio State will be dismantled by another SEC team in the BCS title game this year, and Alabama will somehow end its six-game losing streak to Auburn.
Article comments
1 - Pico
"Make no mistake, LSU was the best team in football last year but had to struggle to get to the title game in no small part because Les Miles is an appallingly bad game coach with a poor disposition."
For a minute there I thought that Josh wrote this piece ;-)