2008 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

2008 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Music City Bowl champion
Conference Southeastern Conference
Division Eastern Division
2008 record 7–6 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach Bobby Johnson (7th season)
Offensive coordinator Ted Cain (7th season)
Defensive coordinator Bruce Fowler (7th season)
Captain
Home stadium Vanderbilt Stadium
(Capacity: 39,773)
2008 SEC football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Eastern Division
No. 1 Florida x$#  7 –1     13 –1  
No. 13 Georgia  6 –2     10 –3  
Vanderbilt  4 –4     7 –6  
South Carolina  4 –4     7 –6  
Tennessee  3 –5     5 –7  
Kentucky  2 –6     7 –6  
Western Division
No. 6 Alabama x%  8 –0     12 –2  
No. 14 Ole Miss  5 –3     9 –4  
LSU  3 –5     8 –5  
Arkansas  2 –6     5 –7  
Auburn  2 –6     5 –7  
Mississippi State  2 –6     4 –8  
Championship: Florida 31, Alabama 20
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 2008–09 college football season. The team's head coach was Bobby Johnson, who served his seventh season in the position. The Commodores played their six home games at Vanderbilt Stadium at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee. This was Vanderbilt's first 5-0 start since 1943. The season saw Vandy reach a bowl game for the first time since 1982, and also end a streak of 26 straight losing seasons.

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
August 28 6:30 p.m. at Miami (OH)* Yager Stadium • Oxford, OH ESPNU W 34–13   18,398
September 4 7:30 p.m. No. 24 South Carolina Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN ESPN W 24–17   36,850
September 13 6:00 p.m. Rice* Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN W 38–21   37,370
September 20 6:00 p.m. at Ole Miss Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS (Rivalry) W 23–17   51,281
October 4 5:00 p.m. No. 13 Auburn No. 19 Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN (College Gameday) ESPN W 14–13   39,773
October 11 1:30 p.m. at Mississippi State No. 13 Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS PPV L 14–17   43,619
October 18 11:30 a.m. at No. 9 Georgia No. 22 Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA (Rivalry) Raycom L 14–24   92,746
October 25 2:00 p.m. Duke*dagger Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN L 7–10   38,270
November 8 7:00 p.m. No. 5 Florida Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN ESPN2 L 14–42   39,773
November 15 7:00 p.m. at Kentucky Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY (Rivalry) ESPN2 W 31–24   65,595
November 22 11:30 a.m. Tennessee Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN (Rivalry) Raycom L 10–20   38,725
November 29 6:00 p.m. at Wake Forest* BB&T Field • Winston-Salem, NC ESPNU L 10–23   25,902
December 31 2:30 p.m. vs. No. 24 Boston College* LP Field • Nashville, TN (Music City Bowl) ESPN W 16–14   54,250
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released week prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Season Summary

Following a 4–0 start to the season, the Vanderbilt Commodores were ranked for the first time on the AP Poll since 1984.[1] Following the victory over Auburn, the Commodores were 5–0 for the first time since 1943.[2] After the good start, the Commodores would lose their next four games before a 31-24 victory over Kentucky that declared them bowl eligible for the first time since 1982. Vandy would then lose their final two games of the regular season.They ended the season by going to the Music City Bowl where they defeated Boston College by a score of 16-14, ending a 53-year bowl victory drought.

Game summaries

Miami (OH)

1 2 3 4 Total
Commodores 17 10 0 7 34
RedHawks 3 7 3 0 13

South Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total
Gamecocks 7 3 0 7 17
Commodores 0 3 14 7 24

Rice

1 2 3 4 Total
Owls 14 7 0 0 21
Commodores 7 14 10 7 38

Ole Miss

1 2 3 4 Total
Commodores 14 3 0 6 23
Rebels 17 0 0 0 17

Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total
Tigers 13 0 0 0 13
Commodores 0 7 7 0 14

This game was notably broadcast on ESPN's national television program College GameDay.

Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total
Commodores 0 7 0 7 14
Bulldogs 3 0 7 7 17

Georgia

1 2 3 4 Total
Commodores 0 7 7 0 14
Bulldogs 7 7 7 3 24

Duke

1 2 3 4 Total
Blue Devils 0 7 3 0 10
Commodores 0 0 0 7 7

Florida

1 2 3 4 Total
Gators 21 14 7 0 42
Commodores 0 0 7 7 14

Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total
Commodores 14 10 0 7 31
Wildcats 0 7 10 7 24

Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total
Volunteers 0 20 0 0 20
Commodores 0 0 10 0 10

Wake Forest

1 2 3 4 Total
Commodores 3 0 0 7 10
Demon Deacons 3 7 7 6 23

Boston College

1 2 3 4 Total
Eagles 0 7 0 7 14
Commodores 6 0 7 3 16

Coaching staff

  • Bobby Johnson - Head Coach
  • Ted Cain - Offensive Coordinator and Tight Ends Coach
  • Bruce Fowler - Defensive Coordinator
  • Robbie Caldwell - Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coach
  • Rick Logo - Defensive Line Coach
  • Warren Belin - Linebackers Coach and Recruiting Coordinator
  • Jamie Bryant - Defensive Backs Coach and Special Teams Coordinator
  • Charlie Fisher - Co-Passing Game Coordinator & Wide Receivers
  • Jacob DeLucia - Co-Passing Game Coordinator & Quarterbacks
  • Des Kitchings - Running Backs Coach
  • Michael Hazel - Assistant Director of Football Operations
  • Joey Orck - Offensive Quality Control
  • Andy Frank - Defensive Quality Control
  • Norval McKenzie - Offensive Graduate Assistant
  • Mark Moehring - Defensive Graduate Assistant
  • Tom Bossung - Head Athletic Trainer
  • Brian Reese - Associate Director of Student Athletics
  • John Sisk - Director of Speed, Strength and Conditioning
  • Luke Wyatt - Head Equipment Manager

References

  1. ↑ "Auburn's offense looks to get on track against upstart Vandy". ESPN. 2008-10-04. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
  2. ↑ "Vandy is officially dandy: Commodores upset Auburn; Alabama holds off Kentucky". Associated Press. 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2008-10-25.
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