by Barca Blog - I just uploaded free highlights from last night's 36-17 win over Rice on VUcommodores.com.
Watch John Cole blaze down the sideline on a reverse to score his first career touchdown... Trey Wilson deliver a bone-crushing hit on kickoff return coverage... Patrick Benoist and Eddie Foster get their first career interceptions and Myron Lewis record his first multi-pick game... Larry Smith fool Rice defenders on a sweet fake pitch to score easily from 6-yards out... Warren Norman break through tacklers at the line of scrimmage and take it to the house... And much more... Click Here
by Barca Blog - With plenty of opportunities but only a 10-10 tie to show for it, Vanderbilt regrouped after the half to dominate the rest of the game and secure a 36-17 victory over Rice Saturday night in Houston.
Credit the Commodores' offense for not folding after a couple of costly mistakes killed drives and left points off the board in the first half. Yes, VU's lack of execution in key moments early on mirrored their struggles against Mississippi State a week ago, but the 'Dores responded with some big plays to pick up the much needed win.
"We came up a little short in the first half with only 10 points," said quarterback Larry Smith, who set new career highs in passing yards (268), attempts (41) and completions (23). "They were blitzing quite a bit and we just had to change some minor protections to give me more time to throw the ball down the field."
The turning point on offense occurred late in the third quarter when Smith connected with sophomore receiver Udom Umoh on a 54-yard strike down the sideline. Vanderbilt's longest pass play of the season set up a six-yard touchdown run by Smith to push the Commodores ahead 20-10. Two series later in the fourth quarter, freshman tailback Warren Norman rumbled 58 yards for a touchdown on the first play to put the contest out of reach.
"We made the adjustments in the second half and executed on all cylinders," Smith added. "The offensive line did an excellent job of protecting me and the running backs did an excellent job of running. It was good for us to bounce back from last week's poor performance. It gives us a little confidence back."
You can watch postgame press conference footage of head coach Bobby Johnson, linebacker Patrick Benoist, cornerback Myron Lewis and quarterback Larry Smith by clicking here.
(photo by Stan Jones)
I'll leave you with the song of the day.... Billy Joel reminds us to never forget our second wind.
by Barca Blog - Here's a photo of Rice Stadium only an hour and a half before game time.
Good weather conditions at the moment... It's 88 degrees and partly cloudy with only a 15 percent chance of rain. Wind is minimal at 1 mph. The Commodores will be wearing white jerseys with gold pants. Also, today's officials were assigned by the SEC.
You can follow the action live on VUcommodores.com starting with Joe Fisher's pregame radio show at 6 p.m. CT, one hour prior to kickoff. The game will be televised on CSS at 7 p.m. CT.
by Barca Blog - The Commodores got their first feel for Rice Stadium during their hour-long walk-through last night inside the facility. Click Here to view Stan Jones' photos from the session.
Two notes about Rice Stadium:
Did you know... It was the site of Super Bowl VIII. In that game, the Miami Dolphins easily defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 in front of 71,882 fans. Rice Stadium is one of only three campus facilities still in operation that have hosted a Super Bowl (Sun Devil Stadium and Stanford Stadium).
Did you know... Rice also has a brand new scoreboard in the north end zone which bears the name of Commodore legend Jess Neely (shown in photo gallery). Neely is the most successful coach in Owls' history with 144 wins and seven bowl berths.
Finally, good news from Storm Tracker Travis. According to weather.com, there is a zero percent chance of rain at kickoff tonight (7 p.m. CT). Dry conditions would be a nice change of pace considering it's been raining in Nashville the last 10 days... and our last two games have been affected by inclement weather.
by Barca Blog - I just uploaded free highlights from last night's 36-17 win over Rice on VUcommodores.com.
