VUCommodores.com has a great list of Vanderbilt's top-10 moments in 2006. It's a little sad that the bowling team landed at number five, but there are some great achievements, too. It's amazing to see basketball player Mike Meyer saving fellow hoopster Davis Nwankoo's life making the list, although I imagine it is number one rather than number nine to Nwankoo. Nonetheless, that is an accomplishment to be thankful for as we approach 2007. Go Dores!!
Sorry, Coach Bando! It's all over but the shouting after Coach Rob's Florida Gators pounded your Ohio State Buckeyes yesterday. Oh wait, that was on the basketball court. Could it be an omen for January 8th??
What happens when fans yell, "Go Owls," and then the Owls actually do go? Usually, it means that either Temple (above) or Rice win, but it doesn't happen very often. Yesterday, Temple snapped a 20-game losing streak by defeating Coach GQ's family favorite Bowling Green Falcons 28-14. Way to go, Owls! (by the way, the Falcons beat Temple 70-7 last season. Whoops.)
The rest of the FP is really wishing that Coach GQ had taken his family's beloved Falcons this year, as he has done once before. The FP is also extremely pleased that Temple's victory did not come at the expense of the Vanderbilt Commodores and that Vanderbilt did not prevent the team that now holds the nation's longest losing streak, Duke, from breaking their own streak of futility yesterday. Go Dores!!
That last letter is for Florida, of course. What is going on down there? Sure, the Gators are doing fine this season, but Miami and Florida State are in shambles with both their real-life coaches on the hot seat. In the FP, both teams are continuing to cause grief for Coaches Bando and Woody, respectively, as the 'Canes and 'Noles both dropped games yesterday. Miami fell 30-23 to Georgia Tech in Bando's presence in Atlanta, and Woody wisely did not make the trip to see Maryland top Florida State 27-24.
This week's motto, which may also be this season's maxim, must be, "That's why they play the games."
Coach Rob was sweating it big time when the Texas Tech Red Raiders jumped out in front of his Texas Longhorns yesterday, but the Horns had enough to pull out the win in the second half. Yikes, the pool is getting tight in a hurry.
Boy, this one is begging for innuendo, but let's keep it clean and say that the Oregon State Beavers did what the Clemson Tigers could not this past weekend: Hand Coach Rob another loss. Oregon State downed USC 33-31, ending a 38-game regular season winning streak for the Trojans and keeping the FP standings tight as the coaches head into the November home stretch. Ouch.
Coach Rob definitely did not see this coming, but he's not complaining. The Clemson Tigers have looked like the class of the ACC at times this season, but last night they were the second-best team on the field in Blacksburg as Virginia Tech steamrolled Clemson 24-7.
As Coach Woody reminded the FP yesterday, "That's why they play the games."
The Commodore Count has been lowered to level five, "Dores fold late," in the wake of yesterday's loss. Level four, "Whipped from the start," almost seemed appropriate, too, so maybe the Dores are really at level four-and-a-half. Either way, it hurts.
Speaking of Coach Woody, his Notre Dame Fighting Irish must have rubbed the @#%# out of their rabbit's foot (above) when they eked out a 20-17 victory over UCLA with less than a minute remaining this afternoon. Boy, Notre Dame is annoying, but coach is sure happy to avoid what we all thought was a sure defeat.
Coach Woody's Florida State Seminoles may want to rethink their decision to debut new all-black uniforms today in the wake of their 24-19 loss to Boston College. I thought they were ugly, and--as you can see in the photo above--no longer accurate ("unconquered" doesn't seem to fit). The Seminoles may want to spend more time in practice this week and less time in front of the mirror.
The answer to Joe Biddle's question, unfortunately, is no. South Carolina downed Vanderbilt today 31-13 in front of the entire FP. It could have been closer, but it also could have been worse. It was painful to watch the second half.
Nope, I'm not bringing up college hoops on the FP site. I am bringing up college hockey, though, and check out the war that's gradually building in Alaska. I side with the Seawolves on this one. Here's my favorite part of this story:
"We're the bigger school," said UAA assistant hockey captain Justin Bourne. "Whatever, we'll deal with it on the ice."
For what it's worth, I'm not sure anyone below the 49th parallel really cares (and neither does anyone in Canada). Both schools are Division II except for college hockey anyway. The teams face off this weekend, and I'll be sure to share the results. Go Seawolves!
