Making History is Never Easy: Vanderbilt 31, Kentucky 24
by cocknfire
on Nov 16, 2008 12:09 AM EST
in Football
The thing about breakout seasons is, you never see them coming. Sure, sometimes you take a chance on a team and label them "a dark horse." But no one, no one saw Vanderbilt getting bowl eligible this year.
Probably not even Vanderbilt. Some of the Vandy beat writers told me at SEC Media Days that the Commodores were waiting for next year to make their run. So much for that.
Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 31-24 Saturday, surviving a furious Kentucky rally at the end of the game to pick up their sixth win and a ticket to the postseason for the first time since 1982.
Playing no small part in all this was D.J. Moore, who caught two TDs -- adding some explosiveness to an offense that has long lacked it -- and grabbing two interceptions, including one that essentially iced the game.
I'll take that, thank you.
Moore, probably the best player on the team on either side of the ball (and maybe both), helped key the Commodores to more success on offense than they've had in more than two months. The 31 points were the most by the Commodores since they beat Rice 38-21 on Sept. 13.
With Tennessee coming up next week, the Dores could get their seventh win. An upset of Wake Forest would make that eight, the most wins since that 1982 season, with a chance for a ninth win in a bowl. Vanderbilt hasn't won nine games since 1915.
But the most significant milestone has already been passed: Vanderbilt will play one more game after the regular season ends.
No one saw it coming, but almost everyone -- save Kentucky -- will celebrate. Vanderbilt has become one of the most lovable underdogs in college football over the last several years, never quitting and always seeming so close -- yet always ending up so far away.
The might be an underdog again in December, when they head to that long-awaited bowl game. I'll go ahead and guess that they'll take that.
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Thanks
I appreciate the support. Goodness knows this 6th win has been a long time coming.
Hopefully we can finish 9-4 and minimize the stigma to y’all, Ole Miss, Auburn, Kentucky, and everyone else we’ve beaten. ;)
by PhilipVU94 on Nov 16, 2008 1:30 AM EST 0 recs
Roughing the Passer
The Micah Johnson penalty was a travesty. It’s a shame Kentucky can’t even get a call in its own stadium against Vanderbilt. I can’t even share the stream of violent impulses that have been coarsing through my body since it occured. Situational officiating… you can’t make that call on a third and long in the fourth quarter on a play that had already lasted seven or eight seconds on a quarterback outside of the pocket and falling in the direction that he was pushed. I feel bad for the Kentucky players disenfranchised by poor officiating, and for the coaches subject to a system that doesn’t allow well deserved criticism to be voiced publicly. Officials need to be publicy chastized for subjective calls that change the outcomes of football games. The official didn’t know it was going to be an interception, but it was third and long and KY would have gotten the ball back on a punt (if the punter didn’t take another dive as he did on the second roughing the punter penalty) Swallow your whistle and stop overcompensating for the shortcomings that led you to choose to be an official in the first place. The SEC and NCAA needs to publicly post officiating rankings for each week. Step up and stop hiding behind the sportmanlike behavior that is supposed to encompass ‘amateur’ athletics. Reevaluate and hold yourselves accountable. Also, I can’t wait to read the local newspaper articles that will praise Vanderbilt’s no. 17 for having such a spectacular game and fail to mention the official had a bigger part in the outcome of the game than did any one player.
by ukfootballbrother on Nov 16, 2008 1:38 AM EST 0 recs
If I'm remembering the same call
It seemed to have more to do with the fact that the hit was high than the fact that it was late.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
by cocknfire on
Nov 16, 2008 4:41 AM EST
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The officials have always been fixed.
You just have to roll with the punches and the pushes. The Gators got a freeby TD last night when the officials allowed to Thompson to push off. Thanks, but can we get the karma out of the way next week? I’d rather it not come back in a game that we don’t have a 99% chance of winning.
Clutch: A measurement of how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/glossary/
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on
Nov 16, 2008 3:54 PM EST
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Aha! So then it should have been 49-6!
I feel so much better now.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
by cocknfire on
Nov 16, 2008 6:41 PM EST
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Exactly.
I don’t want bad karma from a slanted call that we didn’t need.
Clutch: A measurement of how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/glossary/
by bs.uf15bosox9bears23 on
Nov 17, 2008 7:57 PM EST
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While we're on the subject of referee judgment...
…No offensive pass interference on KY’s 33 yard reception in the 4th?
That non-call on a blatant push-off led to KY’s last touchdown.
When even the walking dead ESPN2 team of Bob Davie and Mark Jones recognized that play as a clear case of offensive interference, you know the zebras blew it.
by JMOC on Nov 16, 2008 10:57 AM EST 0 recs
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