I can’t say I expected that. Some of us did, but I certainly did. Vanderbilt handled Nevada in the way an SEC team should handle a G5 school. A very encouraging result for the overall program. Frankly, we just plain dominated, and the game felt like it could have been an even bigger blowout.

The game didn’t have a great start for the Commodores. The first two drives ended with disaster: a fumble on the 10 and turnover on downs at the 3. It looked as if we were trying to lose the game on offense while our defense was keeping us in it. After that, many drives stalled early, ending in FGs. Essentially, Vanderbilt couldn’t finish against a defense that it should have been.

The good news, however, is that despite those issues, Vanderbilt looked to be the far better team all game. That’s a huge development. All too often in recent years have the Commodores looked to be on the same level of opponents like this. That’s sad, but Vanderbilt looks like an SEC team should look against these teams. We always were in control and it felt it. Still, the real test is today.

That’s largely how we all feel. We’re at different grades of caution, but we’re all interested in seeing what we’re going to show when we enter the meat of SEC play, and Notre Dame is going to be a big omen of that. This game is going to be a very hard game to win, but it’s an overall test of who this team is. We’re still cautious though because, well, last season.

Finally on the football front, Vanderbilt Vice Chancellor and AD David Williams is retiring effective end of the academic year. He’s held the position of AD for over 15 years. He will remain as a professor at Vanderbilt Law School to teach, which he describes as his first love. David Williams will be missed. I’ve been a big critic about the way Vanderbilt runs its athletic programs, but it is undeniable that VCDW has been a force for good. More than that, VCDW loves the students, the players, and this school.

In Vanderbilt’s announcement they specifically say they’re looking for a new AD immediately. This is a great chance for Chancellor Zeppos to show what he really thinks about Vanderbilt Athletics and the future of VUFB. I’m not optimistic, but I hope I’m incorrect.

• The Carolina game has been scheduled as the SECN doom 3pm slot, which puts it against the Aggie-Alabama game everyone will be watching on CBS.
• The Auburn folks maintained their lead week 2, now see where we’re at in the AoG Staff Pick’em Week 3.
• Jenn is correct to point out that college football is superior to the NFL.
• It turns out Vanderbilt has EIGHT players in the pros!
• Adrey Kell (DB, 2*) committed to VU football.
• The #1 Basketball recruit in the country apparently has voiced interest in Vanderbilt.
• The women’s soccer team won over Georgia State to go to 7-1-0.

Dan Mullen decided to anger the football Gods by joking about the UF streak over UK. ASU upset Michigan State. Clemson needed the ACC refs to beat Aggie. See all the highlights of Week 2 in my recap.

Well, in the sense that other people are playing something approximating the game of football, yes. The slate of week three games are marginally better than week two, but still not even to the level of week one. I somehow managed to scrounge up a suggestion of games to watch for y’all though.

It’s Notre Dame day. The final “screw you” from James Franklin will soon be realized. Many of us have made the trek to South Bend to watch our boys go to a game with the odds stacked against them. We’re fighting one of the most storied franchises in college football. Big deal. We do that week in week out in the SEC. And yes, ND is different because it is ND, but the majority of SEC players know far more SEC history than memories of Lou Holtz Notre Dame squads. The big message I want to send to our boys is that keeping your head is of paramount importance. We can defeat the odds, but we have to stay focused.

Mason understands where we have to be at. The vest returned for Mason’s presser this week. Unsurprisingly, a solid amount of time was given to departing AD VCDW. We got some good news for the FB team though: Colin Anderson, Dayo Odeyingbo, and Zaire Jones are all returning for this game. That’s huge. As I’ve covered all week, Notre Dame is on par with an SEC team. As I’ve also been saying all week, Notre Dame fans don’t seem to understand what level of compliment that is for SEC fans to say.

As we’re back to playing teams with SBN sites, we’re back to having Q&A sessions with our sister sites! Tom sat down and had a chat with OneFootDown to get the fan perspective on the Irish. He in turn answered some questions they had about the Dores. We also have offensive and defensive previews, and their depth chart to get you informed on our Fightin’ Irish foes.

We’re so confident about the result of this game, we’re not worried about ‘em. It’s going to be a tough game, but likely not a slaughter. Let’s hope for the miracle. I’d like to end this post with a thank you to the people over at OneFootDown. It was a fun place to hang out and good luck on the rest of y’all’s season.