Anchor Down -- Vanderbilt University Commodores (NCAA Football 09)

[NYwRiter94]

Vandy Claws Back, But Can't Get Home Win

Nashville, TN--James Franklin knows his team has heart and determination. But he also knows that without discipline, there's no way they can win.

"Rice jumped out to an early lead, but we had countless opportunities and we threw them all away," commented the clearly frustrated Vanderbilt coach. "Turnovers and penalties killed us. We could have and should have won. We played an atrocious first half and still almost won the game."

Rice started the game off with three first quarter touchdowns: one punt return and two interception returns. Nickson threw four interceptions and three pick sixes before being pulled in favor of Junior Mackenzi Adams, but an injury to Adams forced Nickson back into the game, where he conducted the second of his two half-ending TD drives. Down by 20 with three minutes left, Senior CB Josh Allen intercepted his second pass of the game and took it 81 yards for a touchdown, sparking the Vanderbilt comeback. A three-and-out got the ball back in Vanderbilt's hands, and Nickson led a drive which he capped with a pass to his number one target, George Smith.

"I was struggling throughout the game," said the Senior who threw two touchdowns and five interceptions, "but I knew that when we came out at the end of the game we had all of the confidence in the world."

Kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt attempted an onside kick with less than two minutes remaining, but Vanderbilt recovered the ball a yard short of the minimum distance, and an encroachment penalty on 2nd and 9 killed any chance of getting the ball back.

"It was a tough way to lose," commented Franklin, who hosted three visiting recruits today, "but I'm proud of my boys for hanging in there and clawing their way back. We'll take the next week to refocus and make sure we're prepared to start games as strong as we're finishing them."

Rice Owls at Vanderbilt Commodores
Sep 13, 2008	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Rice Owls (2-0)	20	0	7	7	34
Vanderbilt Commodores (1-1)	0	7	7	14	28

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		RICE	VAN
3:41	(RICE) J. Dillard returns punt for 76 yard TD (C. Fangmeier PAT is no good)	6	0
2:28	(RICE) W. Garley returns interception for 102 yard TD (C. Fangmeier PAT is good)	13	0
0:27	(RICE) B. King returns interception for 51 yard TD (C. Fangmeier PAT is good)	20	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		RICE	VAN
0:19	(VAN) C. Nickson passes to J. Bradford for 5 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	20	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		RICE	VAN
4:31	(RICE) J. Shepher returns interception for 30 yard TD (C. Fangmeier PAT is good)	27	7
0:54	(VAN) J. Jennings runs for 2 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	27	14
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		RICE	VAN
6:56	(RICE) C. Clement pass to J. Dillard for 26 yard TD (C. Fangmeier PAT is good)	34	14
2:54	(VAN) J. Allen returns interception for 81 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	34	21
1:40	(VAN) C. Nickson pass to G. Smith for 13 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	34	28

Rice Owls PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chase Clement 15/25 195 1 4 John Thomas Shepherd 3/3 42 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Justin Hill 9 45 5.0 0 Chase Clement 7 4 0.5 0 Jarett Dillard 1 0 0.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tommy Henderson 5 63 12.6 0 Toren Dixon 4 59 14.7 0 Jarett Dillard 3 40 13.3 1 CJ Ugokwe 2 22 11.0 0 John Welch 1 21 21.0 0 James Casey 1 8 8.0 0 Justin Hill 1 13 13.0 0 Taylor Wardlow 1 11 11.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Willie Garley 13 0 2 1 Ja'Corey Shepherd 4 0 1 1 Brandon King 9 0 1 1 Chris Jones 8 1 0 0 Vernon James 14 0 0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Jarett Dillard 3 101 33.6 0 Justin Hill 1 28 28.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Jarett Dillard 1 76 76.0 1

Vanderbilt Commodores PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Mackenzi Adams 4/6 47 0 0 Chris Nickson 13/31 123 2 5 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jeff Jennings 38 108 2.8 1 Chris Nickson 8 11 1.3 0 Mackenzi Adams 5 13 2.6 0 Jared Hawkins 4 21 5.2 0 Ryan Van Rensburg 2 2 1.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jake Bradford 5 58 11.6 1 George Smith 3 35 11.6 1 Jeff Jennings 2 8 4.0 0 Sean Walker 2 23 11.5 0 Justin Wheeler 2 22 11.0 0 Ryan Van Rensburg 2 14 7.0 0 Alex Washington 1 10 10.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Reshard Langford 7 0 1 0 Chris Johnson 6 2 0 0 Josh Allen 5 0 2 1 Ryan Hamilton 5 0 0 0 Brandon Bryant 4 0 1 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD George Smith 3 119 39.6 0 Jared Hawkins 3 73 24.3 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD George Smith 4 80 20.0 0

[NYwRiter94]

Week 3 Review

Week 3 Featured Matchups
Results	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
USF 20, #15 Kansas 15	M. Grothe - 277	J. Sharp - 50	T. Johnson - 106
Georgia Tech 35, #17 Virginia Tech 14	J. Nesbitt - 157	K. Lewis - 87	Z. Luckett - 53
#1 Georgia 62, #20 South Carolina 14	C. Smelley - 188	K. Moreno - 99	M. Massaquoi - 119
Mississippi State 38, #16 Auburn 31	W. Carroll - 181	B. Tate - 252	R. Dunn - 92
#11 Clemson 42, NC State 14	W. Korn - 235	J. Davis - 169	A. Kelly - 104
#3 Ohio State 38, #4 USC 31	M. Sanchez - 169	C. Wells - 175	P. Turner - 131
#10 Texas 64, Arkansas 10	C. McCoy - 341	D. Curtis - 89	Q. Cosby - 109

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 14, 2008
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Georgia (40)	3	0	1504
2	3	Ohio State (21)	3	0	1468
3	2	Oklahoma	3	0	1437
4	5	Florida	2	0	1268
5	6	LSU	3	0	1218
6	7	Missouri	3	0	1167
7	8	West Virginia	2	0	1117
8	9	Wisconsin	3	0	1081
9	10	Texas	3	0	1016
10	4	USC	1	1	999
11	11	Clemson	3	0	966
12	12	Texas Tech	3	0	917
13	14	Arizona State	3	0	818
14	18	Tennessee	2	0	621
15	21	Oregon	3	0	490
16	22	Illinois	2	1	395
17	15	Kansas	2	1	388
18	23	Wake Forest	2	0	379
19	24	Texas A&M	2	0	331
20	16	Auburn	2	1	298
21	36	Mississippi State	3	0	283
22	28	USF	3	0	259
23	26	Florida State	2	0	236
24	20	South Carolina	2	1	233
25	17	Virginia Tech	2	1	196

Heisman Watch - Updated: Sep 14, 2008
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Tim Tebow	QB	Florida		576 Yds, 8 TD, 2 Rush TD
Chris "Beanie" Wells	HB	Ohio State		426 Yds, 5 TD, 2 Rec TD
Percy Harvin	WR	Florida		141 Yds, 3 TD
Chase Daniel	QB	Missouri		969 Yds, 11 TD, Rush TD
Keiland Williams	HB	LSU		373 Yds, 7 TD, Rec TD

[NYwRiter94]

Commodores Refocus, Dominate Rivals In Victory

Oxford, MS--James Franklin said last week that his football team needed to "refocus" and to "start games as strong as we finish them". They definitely accomplished both of those things today against Ole Miss.

Even while losing defensive superstar Reshard Langford and embattled QB Chris Nickson, Vanderbilt excelled on both sides of the ball en route to a 33-13 decision over their longtime rival.

"This was the kind of game I knew we were capable of," commented Franklin, whose team scored the first 21 points of the game as well as the final 9. "We fought through adversity and played a tough game from start to finish."

QB Chris Nickson, who was benched last week but got the starting nod due to an injury to backup Mackenzi Adams, played only a few snaps before bruising his shoulder. Third-string sophomore Jared Funk replaced him admirably, completing 14 of 19 passes with 1 TD and no picks. The two-headed rushing attack also proved solid, with Jeff Jennings and Jared Hawkins combining for over 150 yards rushing. The defense was stellar, producing four turnovers and one touchdown all while giving up only 240 yards of total offense.

"You know we're gonna give you a tough game," said Junior CB DJ Moore, who returned his second interception for a touchdown this season. "Those ranked teams coming up on our schedule better watch out; the freight train's coming through."

Moore and the rest of the team will have a week off before taking on ranked Auburn at home.

Vanderbilt Commodores at Mississippi Rebels
Sep 20, 2008	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Vanderbilt Commodores (1-2)	7	17	3	6	33
Mississippi Rebels (1-2)	0	6	7	0	13

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		VAN	MISS
2:16	(VAN) D. Moore returns interception for 82 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		VAN	MISS
5:15	(VAN) J. Jennings runs for 3 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	14	0
3:12	(VAN) J. Funk pass to J. Bradford for 13 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	21	0
2:37	(MISS) J. Snead pass to M. Wallace for 87 yard TD (J. Shene PAT is no good)	21	6
--:--	(VAN) B. Hahnfeldt 29 yard FG is good	24	6
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		VAN	MISS
5:12	(MISS) J. Snead pass to C. Eason for 8 yard TD (J. Shene PAT is good)	24	13
3:16	(VAN) B. Hahnfeldt 37 yard FG is good	27	13
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		VAN	MISS
6:53	(VAN) B. Hahnfeldt 45 yard FG is good	30	13
4:39	(VAN) B. Hahnfeldt 28 yard FG is good	33	13

Vanderbilt Commodores PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jared Funk 14/19 142 1 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jeff Jennings 24 74 3.0 1 Jared Hawkins 19 79 4.1 0 Alex Washington 2 20 10.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Alex Washington 4 42 10.5 0 Jake Bradford 3 34 11.3 1 Sean Walker 2 26 13.0 0 George Smith 2 24 12.0 0 Justin Wheeler 1 13 13.0 0 Jared Hawkins 1 3 3.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Myron Lewis 5 0 1 0 Josh Allen 5 2 1 0 Joel Caldwell 2 0 1 0 DJ Moore 2 0 1 1 Austin Newton 6 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Bryant Hahnfeldt 4/4 3/3 19 45 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD George Smith 3 62 20.6 0

Mississippi Rebels PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jevan Snead 13/25 186 2 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Cordera Eason 10 21 2.1 0 Jevan Snead 7 28 4.0 0 Enrique Davis 1 21 21.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Shay Hodge 4 42 10.5 0 Mike Wallace 2 92 46.0 1 Cordera Eason 2 18 9.0 1 Gerald Harris 2 16 8.0 0 Marshay Green 1 11 11.0 0 Dexter McCluster 1 6 6.0 0 David Traxler 1 1 1.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Ted Laurent 2 1 0 0 Greg Hardy 13 0 0 0 Jamarca Sanford 13 0 0 0 Kendrick Lewis 9 0 0 0 Dustin Mouzon 6 0 0 0

[NYwRiter94]

Week 4 Review

Week 4 Featured Matchups
Results	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
#20 Auburn 29, #5 LSU 28	K. Burns - 212	K. Williams - 132	B. LaFell - 133
#4 Florida 38, #14 Tennessee 7	J. Crompton - 168	T. Tebow - 39	A. Rogers - 93
#18 Wake Forest 42, #23 Florida State 20	R. Skinner - 355	J. Adams - 125	D. Bolden - 125
#1 Georgia 48, #13 Arizona State 24	M. Stafford - 387	K. Moreno - 115	M. Massaquoi - 125
#15 Oregon 55, Boise State 48	D. Thomas - 236	L. Blount - 125	A. Pflugard - 126

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 21, 2008
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Georgia (37)	4	0	1501
2	2	Ohio State (22)	4	0	1391
3	4	Florida (1)	3	0	1376
4	3	Oklahoma (1)	3	0	1333
5	6	Missouri	4	0	1165
6	7	West Virginia	3	0	1133
7	8	Wisconsin	3	0	1056
8	9	Texas	4	0	1002
9	10	USC	1	1	897
10	11	Clemson	4	0	897
11	12	Texas Tech	4	0	846
12	5	LSU	3	1	811
13	15	Oregon	4	0	696
14	16	Illinois	2	1	615
15	18	Wake Forest	3	0	590
16	17	Kansas	3	1	575
17	20	Auburn	3	1	575
18	13	Arizona State	3	1	522
19	19	Texas A&M	3	0	505
20	14	Tennessee	2	1	452
21	21	Mississippi State	4	0	427
22	22	USF	4	0	383
23	24	South Carolina	3	1	261
24	25	Virginia Tech	3	1	231
25	26	Nebraska	3	0	198

Heisman Watch - Updated: Sep 21, 2008
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Tim Tebow	QB	Florida		714 Yds, 9 TD, 3 Rush TD
Chase Daniel	QB	Missouri		1209 Yds, 14 TD, 3 Rush TD
Quan Cosby	WR	Texas		484 Yds, 7 TD
Knowshon Moreno	HB	Georgia		444 Yds, 5 TD, 4 Rec TD
Shannon Woods	HB	Texas Tech		220 Yds, 4 TD, 6 Rec TD

[NYwRiter94]

James Franklin: Bye Week Press Conference

I’d like to begin this press conference by giving a few updates on some injured players. Mackenzi Adams has been nursing some broken ribs and will return for the game against Auburn. Chris Nickson bruised his shoulder against Ole Miss, but has looked fine in practice this week and will also be ready to go. Reshard Langford will likely miss next week’s game with an injured knee, but hopes to be back at practice early next week.

Q: How impressed were you with Jared Funk’s performance against Ole Miss?

A: It was what we really needed, and I think it’s indicative of the type of atmosphere we’ve built here at Vanderbilt. When someone goes down, it’s the next guy up. We were hoping Chris could bounce back from his rough performance the week before, but he got hurt and Jared settled right in. It’s good to know that we can count on him in a situation like that in the future.


Q: So does that mean you’ve reached a decision on who will start against Auburn?

A: Yes—Chris is our starter. He’s earned his role and the way he played in the first two games is much more representative of his ability and focus than the Rice game. Even in that game, he didn’t waver and fought back at the end of the game and nearly won it for us.


Q: How about at Halfback? Since Jennings took over the starting job, Jared Hawkins has looked much better.

A: Jared has looked very explosive in his new role in select packages, but Jeff has done a great job of pounding the rock and moving the chains for us. Jeff only had five more carries than Jared last week, so they’re both getting plenty of opportunities and both players are crucial to the success of our team.


Q: What do you think about the way your defense performed against Ole Miss?

A: I was really impressed with the way our boys performed. In the first few games there were a lot of big plays given up, but more importantly, our defense wasn’t making stops. We weren’t forcing three-and-outs and getting the ball back without giving up points. Not only did we stop them from scoring points and prevent big plays aside from the one touchdown, but DJ Moore returned that interception for a touchdown in order to put us ahead early.


Q: How has he in particular impressed you throughout the whole season?

A: DJ has been sensational. Two pick sixes, he’s making big plays all over the field. He’s one of the team leaders in tackles and whenever he’s near the ball it seems like a big play is coming up for us.


Q: Your team is about to hit a rough stretch in terms of opponents. What is your goal for the next few games?

A: We shouldn’t be settling to anyone. I understand we’re playing #1 Georgia, but we’ve proven we can hang with ranked teams, as we showed against South Carolina. If we focus on eliminating mistakes just like against Ole Miss, there isn’t a game that we should expect to lose.

[NYwRiter94]

Week 5 Review

Week 5 Featured Matchups
Results	Hi Passing	Hi Rushing	Hi Receiving
#7 Wisconsin 21, Michigan 10	A. Evridge - 116	B. Minor - 126	L. Kendricks - 69
#12 LSU 22, #21 Mississippi State 19	W. Carroll - 249	K. Williams - 128	B. LaFell - 93
#17 Auburn 13, #20 Tennessee 7	K. Burns - 219	B. Tate - 139	B. Lester - 67
#25 Nebraska 31, #24 Virginia Tech 21	J. Ganz - 232	M. Lucky - 123	N. Swift - 133

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Oct 5, 2008
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Georgia (35)	5	0	1499
2	2	Ohio State (21)	5	0	1430
3	3	Florida (1)	4	0	1362
4	4	Oklahoma (3)	4	0	1296
5	5	Missouri (1)	4	0	1232
6	6	West Virginia	4	0	1169
7	7	Wisconsin	4	0	1160
8	8	Texas	4	0	1047
9	9	USC	2	1	967
10	10	Clemson	5	0	931
11	11	Texas Tech	4	0	876
12	12	LSU	4	1	812
13	13	Oregon	5	0	785
14	14	Illinois	3	1	757
15	15	Wake Forest	4	0	669
16	16	Kansas	3	1	597
17	17	Auburn	4	1	568
18	18	Arizona State	3	1	507
19	19	Texas A&M	4	0	486
20	23	South Carolina	4	1	312
21	25	Nebraska	4	0	282
22	21	Mississippi State	4	1	226
23	26	Cincinnati	2	1	211
24	20	Tennessee	2	2	195
25	29	Florida State	3	1	118

Heisman Watch - Updated: Oct 5, 2008
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Knowshon Moreno	HB	Georgia		602 Yds, 6 TD, 4 Rec TD
Chris "Beanie" Wells	HB	Ohio State		751 Yds, 7 TD, 2 Rec TD
James Davis	HB	Clemson		591 Yds, 6 TD, 4 Rec TD
Tim Tebow	QB	Florida		856 Yds, 9 TD, 4 Rush TD
Chase Daniel	QB	Missouri		1209 Yds, 14 TD, 3 Rush TD

Vanderbilt Commodores Recruiting - 2008
NAME	POS	CLASS	HOMETOWN	HT	WT	CALIBER
Kevin Bell	WR	HS	Peachtree City, GA	6'7"	193

Vanderbilt Commodores Injury Report
Pos	Player	Injury Note
QB	Mackenzi Adams	Questionable (Broken Ribs)
SS	Reshard Langford	1 Week (Broken Toe)

[NYwRiter94]

Commodores Get Completely Outclassed By #17 Auburn, Lose 44-14

Nashville, TN--"Most people looking at the score of this game will say, 'Oh, it's just ranked Auburn beating another crappy Vanderbilt squad.' But that's not what happened here," flared the enraged James Franklin. "This team had every opportunity to win this game. We came here and put ourselves in a position to win. But we failed to make any plays when given the opportunity, and I'm just disgusted by it."

The 44-14 defeat at the hands of #17 Auburn has clearly left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Vanderbilt football players, but no one more strongly than their Head Coach. "Dropped interceptions, lost fumbles, missed tackles--it's downright disrespectful to go out on a football field and perform like that. And if we do perform like that against Georgia in a few weeks? Let's just say I wouldn't want to be caught on the sideline of that game."

The Commodores head to #22 Mississippi State next week before taking on the top ranked Bulldogs in Athens.

Auburn Tigers at Vanderbilt Commodores
Oct 4, 2008	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#17 Auburn Tigers (4-1)	10	7	7	20	44
Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2)	0	7	0	7	14

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		AUB	VAN
2:47	(AUB) W. Byrum 19 yard FG is good	3	0
0:49	(AUB) K. Burns pass to M. Billings for 38 yard TD (W. Byrum PAT is good)	10	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		AUB	VAN
6:23	(AUB) B. Tate runs for 28 yard TD (W. Byrum PAT is good)	17	0
1:49	(VAN) J. Jennings runs for 1 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	17	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		AUB	VAN
3:10	(AUB) K. Burns pass to M. Billings for 41 yard TD (W. Byrum PAT is good)	24	7
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		AUB	VAN
6:45	(AUB) K. Burns pass to M. Johnson for 2 yard TD (W. Byrun PAT is good)	31	7
3:40	(AUB) W. Byrum 18 yard FG is good	34	7
2:29	(AUB) B. Tate runs for 2 yd TD (W. Byrum PAT is good)	41	7
2:04	(VAN) G. Smith returns kickoff for 92 yard TD (B. Hahnfeldt PAT is good)	41	14
1:05	(AUB) W. Byrum 35 yard FG is good	44	14

Auburn Tigers PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Kodi Burns 30/40 316 3 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Ben Tate 17 81 4.7 2 Brad Lester 11 48 4.3 0 Kodi Burns 10 25 2.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Montez Billings 9 157 17.4 2 Ben Tate 7 36 5.1 0 Chris Slaughter 6 56 9.3 0 Robert Dunn 2 23 11.5 0 Merrill Johnson 2 7 3.5 1 Tim Hawthorne 1 22 22.0 0 Gabe McKenzie 1 14 14.0 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Raven Gray 4 1 1 0 Tray Blackmon 9 0 0 0 Jerraud Powers 8 0 0 0 Zac Etheridge 8 0 0 0 Antonio Coleman 7 0 0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Ben Tate 1 35 35.0 0 Brad Lester 1 29 29.0 0

Vanderbilt Commodores PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jared Funk 12/20 92 0 0 Chris Nickson 0/7 0 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jeff Jennings 19 45 2.3 1 Chris Nickson 7 10 1.4 0 Jared Hawkins 6 22 3.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jeff Jennings 3 25 8.3 0 George Smith 3 26 8.6 0 Jake Bradford 3 12 4.0 0 Alex Washington 2 29 14.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Josh Allen 4 0 1 0 Brandon Bryant 10 0 0 0 Chris Johnson 9 0 0 0 Ryan Hamilton 9 0 0 0 Joel Caldwell 9 0 0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD George Smith 5 192 38.4 1 Jared Hawkins 4 96 24.0 0