Vandy's Football Schedule: Only 4 Ranked Teams - Can the 'Dores Capitalize?

by Train Island on Aug 21, 2010 10:13 PM EDT in Vanderbilt Commodores Football

Admittedly, there is a shadow of impending doom that hangs over this team following a 2-10 season and a new head coach. However, a silver lining still shines through. The Commodores were handed a pretty favorable schedule in the tough-as-nails SEC this season. Vanderbilt misses #1 Alabama, #22 Auburn, and unranked Mississippi State in the conference scheduling draw, leaving #4 Florida as the sole top fifteen squad the team will face in 2010. Comparatively, 2009's schedule included preseason titans in #1 Florida, #8 Mississippi, #11 LSU, and #13 Georgia.

Though the season will bring showdowns with Florida, #17 Arkansas, #21 LSU, and #23 Georgia, the decline of formidable squads at Tennessee, Wake Forest, and Kentucky, make Vanderbilt's 2010 schedule much more palatable. Package that with the potentially-good/potentially-bad fortunes of teams like Northwestern, South Carolina, and Connecticut, and a 6-6 season could be more likely than many pundits, including the prescient wizards on payroll here at AoG, have predicted.

There is much work to be done, and the out-of-conference schedule will be rough for Robbie Caldwell, but looking at the current state of the Southeastern Conference, it's tough to argue that the league schedule could have been much better for the jovial coach's first year. Though swapping out LSU or Arkansas for Mississippi State would have been nice, there's only one game that Vandy fans - despite optimism - can look at and expect a bad loss. That would be Florida, and with John Brantley taking over at quarterback against a staunch VU secondary, even that could be a surprise upset for the Commodores.

Few are optimistic for the college football season in Nashville, but there is a beacon of hope in this year's schedule. If Coach Caldwell can exploit the weaknesses of the mid-tier programs that the 'Dores will face at home (Northwestern, Tennessee, Wake Forest) and pull off a big-time upset away from the friendly confines (a Bobby Johnson specialty), he'd be in the running for SEC coach of the year - and instantly make Vanderbilt a trendy dark horse pick for 2011. That's a pretty big order to fill, but crazier things have happened at Vanderbilt Stadium. Additionally, Caldwell has the benefit of one of the deepest, most athletic teams to trek across the Star Walk. The stage has been set, and the opportunity is there - can the Commodores capitalize and shock the SEC with the winning season this year? It doesn't seem likely, but it is not impossible; not by any means.

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Strength of Schedule

Earlier this summer, the consensus was that Vandy had a top 10 schedule. Do you still think that’s the case?

Anchor of Gold

by KingJamesIV on Aug 23, 2010 10:54 AM EDT reply actions

I think the SEC East is down

Perhaps I’m just being hopeful, but I don’t understand why Florida should replace half their defense and their all-world QB and still be the 4th best team in the country. USC and UK continually flirt with .500, UT is going to suck, and UGA has a new QB and new defensive coordinator. Why should I think any of those teams are going to be light years better than Vandy?

In the West, you have to think LSU is beatable as long as Les Miles is the coach. I can see Arkansas doing an Ole Miss ’09 and failing to live up to these ridiculously lofty expectations that have been heaped upon them. As for Ole Miss ’10…who knows. Losing Jevan Snead probably makes them better.

I don’t know enough about the teams we’re playing in non-conference, though I would assume we’re better than Eastern Michigan. Northwestern? UConn? Wake? No clue…I’d like to believe at least 1 of those is winnable, but we lost to Army last year, so who knows.

6-6? Everything would have to fall exactly in place as it did in ‘08 (i.e. defense is lights out and offense gets out of its own way enough to let us win some games), but I think we’ll be better than 2-10 just because so many teams on our schedule have question marks, too.

by VolnVA on Aug 23, 2010 12:00 PM EDT reply actions

Agreed

A stronger team, talent-wise, plus an easier schedule seems to suggest that being better than 2-10 should be easy. However, the perpetually rebuilding o-line suggests that offense will be another problem, and 14 point games could be shootouts for the Commodores this year – And I don’t know how many teams on this schedule we could beat 14-10. Maybe Wake and Tennessee, along with a big win vs. Eastern Michigan.

I’m happy that the season opener is against a legit opponent this year and not a I-AA team. We’ll have a solid idea of what we’re dealing with for the season after Northwestern comes to town, unlike Western Carolina, who lured me into a false sense of hope in their beating.

http://www.anchorofgold.com - For all 27 Vanderbilt fans out there.

by Train Island on Aug 23, 2010 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions

Northwestern scheduling not acceptable

I’d be willing to hold off a week or two knowing what sort of team we have this year in return for a sure win. The only game this year that reflects the appropriate OOC scheduling philosophy for Vanderbilt is Eastern.

by PhilipVU94 on Aug 25, 2010 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions

SEC sched not that great

Sounds like our schedule is easier because of the general decline in number of top-flight SEC teams this year, not because we got a particularly good schedule draw.

Though swapping out LSU or Arkansas for Mississippi State would have been nice, there’s only one game that Vandy fans – despite optimism – can look at and expect a bad loss.

But bad losses are an acceptable price to pay for wins. I’d much rather play Alabama, Auburn, and Miss State than the West schedule we have. Alabama would beat the living daylights out of us, but so what? It’s only one loss. Getting to play State is far more valuable.

by PhilipVU94 on Aug 25, 2010 12:01 PM EDT reply actions