The 2009 Vanderbilt Commodores

Pigs aren't soaring across the skies outside, the fiery pits of Hell haven't seen a winter yet, and the Devil has yet to strike a deal for my soul - so how did this happen? Vanderbilt finished 2008 with more wins than losses, finished 3rd in the SEC East, climbed to 13th in national polls, and closed the year out with a bowl win against a top 15 team. Spirits are as high in Nashville as I've felt during my Vandy-fevered life, and why shouldn't they be? Vanderbilt returns 17 starters from last year's decorated squad.


While I'd like to jump on the bandwagon with this year's team and have outrageous expectations (SEC CHAMPS!), I still haven't forgotten the 26-year suckfest before the 2008 season. Plus, while Vanderbilt played and won 3 of the best games in the school's history (Auburn, South Carolina, Ole Miss), they also lost a couple of givens that brought Jay Cutler's back-to-back MTSU losses to mind (Duke, Mississippi State). The defense returning 9 starters for 2009 is unbelievably good for this team - the 7 or so for an offense that placed sub-100 overall for yards gained in the nation last year isn't.


The goal set by the team is to have an even better record than 2008, but to do that they're going to have to overcome some drastic obstacles. First, the schedule is even more Vandy-opressive than usual - the team trades Wake Forest for a dominating Georgia Tech squad and in conference foe Auburn for the insanely talented LSU Tigers. Second, a scheduling mishap forces them to play 12 STRAIGHT GAMES this year without a bye week. 12 straight. In the SEC. Needless to say, by season's end we will have seen just about every member of the black and gold get some play time.


Lastly, the offense has to find a way to shake things up this year - another sub-100 overall finish won't amount to a bowl game this year. Efforts were made in the spring game to install a new no-huddle look, which may help a bit, but the serious issues have been with play calling and lack of versatility at running back. With a batch of freshman tailbacks coming in (all were 3-stars on rivals.com - the first of their kind in the Bobby Johnson era) and a more experienced receiving corps, hopefully offensive coordinator Ted Cain can at least improve Vandy's offensive drought.

Vanderbilt has a great chance to improve on last year's record. The aura around Nashville is great, the team is motivated and plays with swagger, and the talent level is higher than it's ever been. At the same time, the 'Dores are still threatened with a losing season because of a daunting schedule and still below the elite level talent they'll face from most SEC teams. If they stick to the same high-takeaway ratio, penalty-free playing that we saw last year, the least this team can accomplish is a above-.500 finish.

The 2009 Auburn Tigers

WTF Auburn fans? First, you strangely decide to make your mascot the Tiger while you have a much cooler and historical War Eagle in the wings. Next, you fire one of the top coaches in the nation - one that brought you out of SEC mediocrity - after one losing season.

Tommy Tuberville was basically fired for hiring a drastic change in offensive mentality with coordinator Tony Franklin, who was deemed "master of the spread" before the start of the 08 season. Auburn smash-mouth football was going to be replaced with a big-time passing game, which obviously would require as much time to install as hiring a completely new coaching staff. Hence, a 5-7 season.

Instead of waiting it out, Tiger fans got super-pissed and called for first Franklin's head (the Auburn rivals.com site actually FEATURED a video of a fan heckling Franklin and his family as he packed his car to leave the practice complex) and eventually Tommy Tuberville after the enormous loss in the Iron Bowl to undefeated arch-rival Alabama. As if the Tigers stood a chance.

So, what has happened since the firing? Auburn turned to famed defensive coordinator, not so famed head coach Gene Chizik, who posted 5 wins in 2 seasons with the Iowa State cyclones. Analysts even went so far as to claim that the team was showing no signs of improvement during those 2 years. Chizik was defensive coordinator at Auburn for a year or so before moving on to Iowa State - this fact seems to be his saving grace for the hire at Auburn. Or maybe it was a desperate move to quiet a rabid fanbase.

Chizik went to Minnesota and snagged D-coordinator Ted Roof, who had drastically improved the Gophers defense in his one year with the squad. This was perhaps Auburn's best gain from the new staff, as Chizik then picked up Gus Malzahn from Tulsa as O-coordinator. Why is this an interesting hire?

Well, for starters, he has often been called "master of the spread" after his years at Tulsa, and once again the team does not have the tools to excel with a spread offense. Quarterback Kodi Burns is a decent runner and below-average passer, struggling to complete 50% of his passes last season. He will struggle again this year, along with tailback Ben Tate whose stocky build would equal a 1,000 yard season with any pro-style offense in the nation.

Further, Malzahn has been in the SEC before - with Houston Nutt and Arkansas - and had mediocre results, other than the huge numbers posted by then Heisman-candidate running back Darren McFadden. This hire will be the make-or-break of the Chizik experiment.

Word on the street is that the new staff at Auburn has "energized" the fanbase and is breathing life back into the program following last season's disappointment. Time will tell how much faith Tiger fans have after this season - Auburn should feel lucky if they even qualify for a bowl game.