James Franklin and Vanderbilt will be gunning for a ninth win against NC State. (Spruce DerdenâUS PRESSWIRE)
While some schools are spending the days following the conclusion of the football season searching for new coaches, others are taking a break before beginning bowl practices.
At many SEC schools, bowl games are the norm and they have been through this before. But at one school, this is an unusual time. This is far from the norm. That school is Vanderbilt and this is the first time in school history that the Commodores are going to a second consecutive bowl game.
Vanderbilt will open the SEC bowl schedule by playing NC State in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31. To celebrate the occasion, Vanderbilt has rewarded coach James Franklin with a new contract that will include updating facilities at McGugin Center and Vanderbilt Stadium to help the football program.
“We have a commitment to excellence and we have a commitment to James Franklin as our head coach,” Vanderbilt vice chancellor and athletics director David Williams said. “He has done a tremendous job and we want to be sure that he has all the tools he needs to continue moving our football program forward. We are committed to having first class facilities and we both look forward to a bright future for Commodore football.”
Franklin’s first two Commodore teams have brought a winning attitude toNashville, something Vanderbilt has been lacking. After posting an 8-4 record this season, Franklin’s Commodores have won 14 games in his first two years, which is the second most number of wins of any Vanderbilt coach since Dan McGugin won 16 in 1904-05.
“Any time you have an opportunity to continue playing and getting better as a family that’s a positive,”Franklin said. “It also give us an opportunity to stake our claim as a beingNashville’s team and what better way to do it than to play in the Music City Bowl.”
Every coach loves the extra practices allowed by the NCAA in bowl preparations.
“I think it is going to give us time to give a lot of reps to some of our younger players,”Franklin said. “We’ll call these practices for the next two or three weeks program development practices where it is not about our opponent. Then we’ll concentrate on our opponent.
“To see the hope and belief in these people’s eyes as to what Vanderbilt can be, I take a lot of pride in that,” Franklin said.
Quarterback Jordan Rodgers pointed to the Commodores’ fans for what the team has accomplished the past couple of seasons.
“I just want to thank the fans,” he said. “They are the reason we are playing as well as we are and they are the reason we’ve got so much support. It’s going to be great to play in front of our home crowd and hopefully we can pack the place out and have a home field advantage. Right now we are just excited to be in the postseason and play here in Nashville.”
Zac Stacy, Vanderbilt’s career leading rusher, echoed the sentiments of his quarterback and coach about playing the bowl game inNashville. Some players might think playing a bowl game in their hometown would be a negative, but not the Commodores.
“It’s a good thing,” Stacy said, “being able to finish it out here inNashville. It’s the perfect combination. Speaking for the senior class, we have been through a lot. We started out 2-10 the first couple of seasons here. Then Coach Franklin and his staff came in and pretty much changed the culture. I’m going to be a proud alum of Vanderbilt. It’s a blessing to get to play in the SEC and get a world class education.
“We’re all excited. We’re going to have our game faces on.”
Those game faces will need to be on Dec 31 when the Commodores play the NC State Wolfpack, who will bring a 6-6 record into the game. It will be Vanderbilt’s second consecutive game against an ACC foe. Vanderbilt beatWakeForest55-21 in the final game of the regular season for a final record of 8-4, Vanderbilt’s first eight-win season since 1982.
