HOOVER, Ala. - Alabama isn’t the only SEC team going for a three-peat this season.
Vanderbilt is competing to play in a bowl game for the third consecutive season. Considering the history of the two programs, if the Commodores pull off another bowl appearance it may be more impressive than if the Crimson Tide win their third consecutive national championship.
Alabama has claimed nine national championships since 1961, while Vanderbilt has played in six bowl games total, with the first being the Gator Bowl after the 1955 season.
In James Franklin’s two seasons as Vanderbilt’s coach, the Commodores have gone to back-to-back bowl games for the first time, losing to Cincinnati 31-24 in the Liberty Bowl and beating North Carolina State 38-24 in last season’s Music City Bowl.
Commodores At a Glance
LAST SEASON 9-4, 5-3 (4th in SEC East)
COACH James Franklin (15-11 in two seasons at Vanderbilt)
RETURNING STARTERS 8 offense, 6 defense
KEY PLAYERS WR Jordan Matthews, CB Andre Hal, PK Carey Spear, OT Wesley Johnson
SEC TITLE SCENARIO Vanderbilt never has won an SEC title and that likely won’t change this season, but the Commodores have become a competitive program in the nation’s toughest conference. Winning the season opener against Ole Miss at home would go a long way toward building on the success of the past two seasons.
The Commodores finished 9-4 last season, their most victories in 98 years, since going 9-1 in 1915. They also ended last season with a seven-game winning streak, which is the longest of any SEC team going into this season.
“Probably our biggest challenge is handling the success,” Franklin said at SEC media days. “Making sure our guys understand that we’re going to have to play with the same type of emotion, passion, chip on our shoulder that we’ve had in the past.”
That Franklin hasn’t moved on to another job after leading the Commodores to a 15-11 record, including 7-9 in the SEC, is somewhat surprising.
“I’m not going to get into the specifics, but I do think it’s been known to people, obvious to people, that we have had some other opportunities,” Franklin said. “My coaching staff as well.”
Franklin noted Vanderbilt is the only SEC team to return its entire coaching staff intact.
“I wasn’t able to keep all those assistant coaches just because we’re doing wonderful things, it’s also because we were able to make the commitment to keep them financially as well,” Franklin said. “I think more than anything, you see a commitment at Vanderbilt right now, not only from the head coach and the players but from the administration and the boosters and the fan base and everybody else, probably more so than it’s ever been at Vanderbilt.”
Senior cornerback Andre Hal said the players were confident Franklin would be back this season.
“I don’t think he would have deserted us like that,” Hal said. “He’s a real genuine person. He tells us he loves us every day.”
Franklin took over a program that went 2-10 in 2009 in Bobby Johnson’s last season as coach and 2-10 in 2010 when Robbie Caldwell was interim coach. The Commodores also were 1-15 in the SEC during that span.
“As a freshman to be 2-10, bottom of the SEC, to where we are now and to know that I’m going to have another year with these guys is crazy and is really exciting,” senior receiver Jordan Matthews said.
Along with all the positive feelings around the program, there also were four players dismissed from Vanderbilt earlier this summer because of their connection to a police investigation into alleged sex crimes.
None of the players - redshirt freshmen Cory Lamont Batey, Eric Banks and Ja-Borian McKenize and junior college transfer Brandon Vandenburg - ever played in a game for the Commodores.
Franklin declined to comment at SEC media days on the player dismissals specifically, citing the ongoing investigation, but he said Vanderbilt will not take chances on recruiting players it believes have character issues.
“I can’t speak for other places or other institutions, but not at Vanderbilt,” he said. “It’s never been that way in the past. It’s not that way presently. It will never be in the future. That’s not what we’re all about.”
The Commodores return 14 starters, but they’ll have a new starting quarterback. Franklin said all jobs remain open in fall camp, but fifth year senior quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels is the likely starter ahead of redshirt sophomore Josh Grady and redshirt freshmen Patton Robinette and Johnny McCrary.
“After spring ball, Austyn has kind of distanced himself from the pack,” Franklin said. “We’ll see what they’ve done over the summer to change all that.”
Carta-Samuels played as Jordan Rodgers’ backup last season and played extensively at Wyoming, where he passed for 3,655 yards and 19 touchdowns in two seasons before transferring to Vanderbilt in 2011.
“Austyn’s arm is crazy good,” Matthews said.
The Commodores open the season against Ole Miss on Aug. 29 at Vanderbilt Stadium in a Thursday night game that will be nationally-televised by ESPN.
“We like to open the season with a Thursday night game because it allows me to bring my guys into camp a little bit earlier, gives me more time on the back end for that next week,” Franklin said. “If you play on a Saturday to open college football, you’re competing with at least 60 other teams.
“We’re going to be the only show in town.”
Sports, Pages 19 on 07/24/2013