It’s true. Big-time football has arrived in Nashville.

The Commodores are 5-0 for the first time since 1943, 3-0 in the SEC for only the third time in school history, ranked No. 13 in the nation and stand one win away from becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 1982, causing many to wonder if this is really happening.

“This is for real,” said wide receiver George Smith. “This team is for real.”

Vanderbilt followed a familiar script against Auburn, rallying from an early deficit, getting just enough big plays on offense and dominating the second half thanks to an aggressive and confident defense.

“I live for this,” said coach Bobby Johnson. “I live to walk into the locker room and see how happy our players are. That’s what gets me excited.”



The big question this week: Who’s going to start at quarterback? The early money is on Mackenzi Adams, who performed admirably in relief of starter Chris Nickson, although Johnson isn’t about to make a decision just yet.

“It’s always up for grabs,” he said. “We grade it every day; see how they do, see how they progress during the week.”

Nickson said he would “definitely” be ready to play Saturday against Mississippi State after re-injuring his right shoulder in the second quarter of the Dores’ 14-13 victory, but Johnson wasn’t so sure.

“It’s still a health issue for Chris,” Johnson said. “Until he gets ready to perform, there’s probably not going to be any debate about it.”

That comments suggests that Adams is going to be the guy.

Within the same notebook, it’s reported that:

1) Vandy welcomed back wide receivers George Smith and Alex Washington this weekend.

2) The Dores now have 11 interceptions on the year.

3) Kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt’s perfect season came to an end.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 11:03 am and is filed under Homepage, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.