Coach James Franklin said that scheduling was one of the most pressing concerns he faced in taking the top job at Vanderbilt.
He also said that the Vanderbilt administration would give him a free hand in setting the schedule for the Black & Gold.
It appears that he may have already taken them up on their offer.(Update: Someone raises the point in the comments that this schedule has been set for a while. I agree that the conference slate has been set, but I'm not so sure that there haven't been tweaks in the non-conference schedule.)
Today, Vanderbilt released the Commodores' 2011 football schedule. Franklin's men will face Elon (an FCS team), Army and a Todman-less UConn in Nashville. Conference foes Ole Miss and Kentucky will also travel to Nashville. Vanderbilt will face Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.
There will be seven home games in total, including four SEC teams (Georgia and Arkansas will also visit Music City).
Though the West Enders will have a favorable home slate, their conference road trips will be brutal: Columbia, Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, and Knoxville.
Talk about a great way to say, "Welcome to the SEC, Coach."
All things considered, though, it's not an unfavorable set of match-ups. There are six winnable games, and five of them are at home.
The question, as always, is whether the Commodores will take advantage of their good fortune.
And we won't know the answer until this fall.
2011 VANDERBILT COMMODORES FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
09/03 v. Elon Phoenix (Nashville)
09/10 v. Connecticut Huskies (Nashville)
09/17 v. Ole Miss Rebels (Nashville)
09/24 at So. Carolina Gamecocks (Columbia)
10/08 at Alabama Crimson Tide (Tuscaloosa)
10/15 v. Georgia Bulldogs (Nashville)
10/22 v. Army Black Knights (Nashville) (Homecoming)
10/29 v. Arkansas Razorbacks (Nashville)
11/05 at Florida Gators (Gainesville)
11/12 v. Kentucky Wildcats (Nashville)
11/19 at Institution of Knoxville Volunteers (Knoxville)
11/26 at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Winston-Salem)