Crucial Penalty Doesn’t Cost Vandy

During the middle of the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt was nursing a 14-point lead at Kentucky when quarterback Chris Nickson ripped through the secondary for more than 30 yards.
           
It would be an historic run. It would put Vandy in field goal range for a game-clinching score. It would mark the first time since 1982 the Commodores would be bowl eligible. It would snap a streak of 17 consecutive losses in bowl-eligible games.
           
Alas, Vandy was called for holding on Nickson’s brilliant run, wiping out the first down, the field position, the probable score and leaving in doubt the outcome.
           
Wasn’t that just typical Vanderbilt - snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and causing Bobby Johnson to anguish once again about being so close, but no cigar.
           
Kentucky quickly scored to cut the margin to seven points, then got the ball back and was driving inside the Vandy 30 when cornerback DJ Moore made a terrific interception on a fourth-down slant play with two minutes left.
           
Vanderbilt’s Johnson got a Gatorade shower.
           
Vanderbilt’s program got a gorilla off its back.
           
There is still a chance Vanderbilt won’t get a bowl bid. The SEC has nine bowl tie-ins. Eight SEC teams are now bowl eligible. Auburn has to beat Alabama to become bowl eligible and Arkansas must beat Mississippi State and LSU to become bowl eligible. If either fails, Vandy is in. And if Florida and Alabama get BCS bowl berths, Vandy is in.
           
Vanderbilt wouldn’t have beaten Kentucky if Johnson hadn’t thrown caution to the wind and played Moore all over the field. The senior had never caught a pass at Vanderbilt, yet caught two for touchdowns in the first quarter. He also intercepted two passes and returned punts.
           
Moore’s yeoman effort is one reason Vandy will be practicing during the Christmas holidays for the first time in 26 years.
           
Vandy (4-3) is also a win over Tennessee away from tying the school record for most SEC wins in a season, set in 1935.
             


Gators Ring Up 50 Points On Former Coach
 
CBS analyst Gary Danielson said during the Florida-South Carolina game that Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier wouldn’t respect Urban Meyer if Meyer had a chance to hang 50 on USC but didn’t.
           
Spurrier certainly did it as Florida’s coach. He liked to run it up and rub it in.
           
Spurrier got a taste of his medicine at The Swamp, as Meyer put 56 on the #1 defense in the SEC. Of course, not all 56 came against USC’s defense. The Gators returned an interception for a touchdown, recovered a lateral on a kickoff at the USC one-foot line, and got 10 more points off special teams play or USC turnovers.
           
Florida made a case for being the nation’s best team, even though the Gators have one loss. Since falling to Ole Miss, Florida has averaged over 50 points against the next six opponents — three of them ranked. In a 19-quarter stretch, the offense had scored a touchdown on 34 of 54 possessions (discounting two at the end of the half). That’s remarkable efficiency.
           
And Florida’s much improved defense has forced more punts (33) than points allowed (26) in the first half. The Gators have outscored opponents 227-26 in the first two quarters and they’ve scored eight non-offensive touchdowns.
           
No wonder Spurrier thinks these Gators are better than the 2006 version, which needed to block a late field goal to hang on against the Gamecocks.
           
By the way, Spurrier has a winning record against every SEC team except his alma mater. He’s 1-3 against the Gators.
 


Tebow In Running For Heisman
 
Winning the Heisman Trophy has become a numbers game.
           
You’ve got to be on the #1 team, or be the #1 rusher or the #1 passer or the first guy to have 20 touchdown passes and 20 touchdown rushes in the same season - like Florida ’s Tim Tebow last year.
           
Tebow accounted for 55 touchdowns last season. He won’t account for that many this year. He might not get to 40. But he’s just as good a quarterback this season as last, if not better.
           
Because he’s such a running threat, he makes Florida run game go. And he’s become a better pocket passer, having completed right at 70 percent of his throws over the last six games.
           
Tebow will be on my Heisman ballot again this year, but I’m not sure I’ll put him first again.
           
While Tebow has had a terrific season, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell has been off the charts. He has completed 71.7 percent of his passes for 4,077 yards and 36 touchdowns with just five interceptions for his second-ranked team (9-0). Harrell has been at his best against three ranked teams the Red Raiders defeated - Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma State.
           
How Harrell plays against Oklahoma this Saturday could define whether he wins the Heisman.
           
Some would argue that Harrell faces softer defenses in the Big 12 than Tebow faces in the SEC.
           
There may be some truth to that, but folks, SEC defenses aren’t all that good this year. Their national defensive numbers are a product of poor SEC offenses and poor non-conference opponents. And look at how West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Tulsa, Texas and Troy sliced up some SEC defenses.
           
By the way, it was interesting to hear CBS report that Tebow spent time with Spurrier at the Heisman Trophy ceremonies and the Dave O’Brien banquet and said he could never play for Spurrier. No explanation was given.
      

               
Extra Points

Florida’s Percy Harvin has scored a touchdown in 12 consecutive games, one shy of the active streak of 13 held by Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree.

LSU quarterback Jarrett Lee has throw seven interceptions this season that have been returned for a touchdown. If that’s not a national record, it’s got to be close.

Kentucky true freshman quarterback Randall Cobb did about all he could against Vanderbilt, passing for 144 yards, rushing for 71 and returning punts. He’s one of the top three freshmen in the SEC this season.

Spurrier said Kenny McKinley is one of the best receivers he’s ever coached, putting him up there with Reidel Anthony, Jacquez Green, Ike Hilliard, Chris Doering and Clarkston Hines. McKinley is USC’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and consecutive games with a catch.

How about this one: Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Kentucky are bowl eligible but Tennessee and Auburn are not.  
 
 
 
My MrSEC.com Power Poll Ballot

1. Alabama
2. Florida
3. Georgia
4. LSU
5. South Carolina
6. Ole Miss
7. Vanderbilt
8. Kentucky
9. Auburn
10. Arkansas
11. Tennessee
12. Miss State

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Homepage, The Ace Reporter . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.