Vanderbilt prepares to go bowling

When SEC Media Days roll around next summer, Vanderbilt’s players thankfully won’t have to answer questions about whether this is the year they’ll break the school’s bowl drought.

The Vanderbilt players always expressed confidence, but it was hard to buy into it, considering Vanderbilt’s last bowl appearance was 1982.

But next year finally is this year for the Commodores, who improved to 6-4 and became bowl-eligible with a 31-24 victory at Kentucky last week.

Six victories don’t guarantee a bowl appearance, but given that the SEC will have 10 slots to fill if Alabama and Florida play in Bowl Championship Series games, the Commodores appear set to go bowling.

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“Obviously, it took a little weight off our shoulders, especially our players,” Vanderbilt Coach Bobby Johnson said of getting to six victories. “They hear so much about it.”

Vanderbilt has two games left, against Tennessee and Wake Forest, and now is playing to improve its bowl position.

“We’re definitely not satisfied,” senior safety Reshard Langford told The Tennessean of Nashville. “Now, we’ve got to stay focused, stay grounded.”

A Vanderbilt bowl appearance is especially gratifying for Johnson, who has a 26-54 record in his seventh season as the Commodores’ coach, but always seems to do more with less in the brutal SEC.

Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks said Johnson not only is one of the better coaches in conference, but in the country.

“He gets so much out of his players and is so fundamentally sound on both sides of the ball,” Brooks said. “If I can be happy for anything getting my fanny beat, I can be happy for Bobby Johnson.” Culliver’s travails

South Carolina free safety Chris Culliver, who was suspended for the first half of last week’s game at Florida after being ejected for fighting against Arkansas, might have wished he’d sat out the whole game.

On Florida’s first snap of the second half, Culliver took a poor angle on Percy Harvin, who ran past him for an 80-yard touchdown.

Repeat after me Ole Miss fifth-year senior cornerback Dustin Mouzon sat in the interview room after the Rebels’ 59-0 victory over Louisiana-Monroe, smiled and said, “Bowl-eligible. Bowleligible. Bowl-eligible.” Then he stopped for a second and shook his head, enjoying the moment with the Rebels becoming bowl-eligible for the first time since 2003. “It’s weird saying it out loud,” Mouzon said. “But we really are bowl-eligible. I’m sure I’ll get used to it pretty soon.”

Special victory Alabama’s special teams provided or helped provide 26 points in the Crimson Tide’s 32-7 victory over Mississippi State. Javier Arenas had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 46-yard return to set up a touchdown; the Tide got scored a safety on a blocked punt; and Leigh Tiffin hit three field goals and three extra points. “The way the special teams played, we just tried not to mess it up,” Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson said. Stadium expansion Plans are in the works for Alabama to expand Bryant-Denny Stadium’s capacity from 92, 000 to 101, 000 at a cost of about $ 80 million.

Changing minds Tennessee has lost four commitments from its 2009 recruiting class since the announcement that Phillip Fulmer will resign as coach effective the end of the season. Running back Dominique Allen has switched his commitment from Tennessee to LSU, and offensive lineman Antonio Foster has switched to Georgia Tech. Athlete D. J. Swearinger and tailback Jarvis Giles have both reopened their recruiting and are giving strong consideration to South Carolina.

Not long enough Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead’s 88-yard completion to Mike Wallace against Louisiana-Monroe is the longest pass play in school history, but it wasn’t a touchdown. The play began from the Ole Miss 9, and while Wallace made several nifty moves to avoid tacklers, he was caught from behind by Josh Thompson at the Warhawks’ 3. “Man, I couldn’t believe that,” Wallace said. “I got a little tired at the end. You know I probably ran 140 yards while getting around all those guys.”

Florida better After Florida beat South Carolina 56-6, Gamecocks Coach Steve Spurrier said the 2008 Gators are better than their 2006 counterparts, who won the national championship. Spurrier’s view is understandable considering the 2006 Gators needed a lastsecond blocked field goal to beat South Carolina 18-17. “They’re better on defense. They’ve got more speed on offense. Their special teams score a bunch,” Spurrier said of the 2008 Gators. “All you’ve got to do is look at their scores this year compared to two years ago. There’s a huge difference.”

Gator tears Florida will bid farewell to 21 seniors who play their final home game against The Citadel on Saturday. There figure to be a lot of tears shed, including some by Gators Coach Urban Meyer. “Oh, I’ll be a mess with those guys,” Meyer said. “They’re really good people.” Pretty good players, too, with a 41-9 record at Florida, including 10-1 against the Gators’ three biggest rivals — Florida State, Georgia and Tennessee. Biggest comeback The 28-point deficit LSU erased to beat Troy 40-31 is the biggest comeback in school history. The previous biggest comeback was 21 points when the Tigers beat Ole Miss 28-21 in 1977. Information for this report was contributed by SEC beat writers. GAME OF THE WEEK

OLE MISS AT NO. 18 LSU 2: 30 P. M. SATURDAY, CBS

Alabama already has clinched the SEC West title, but

the Rebels and Tigers are longtime rivals and playing to better their bowl positions. The winner of this game figures to have the inside track to the Cotton Bowl. Ole Miss is looking for its first victory over LSU since 2001.

OVERHEARD “It was a dumb call on my part. We thought it might provide a spark.” South Carolina Coach

Steve Spurrier on a throwback pass on a kickoff that led to a turnover and touchdown for Florida “Wow ! Wow !” LSU Coach Les Miles after LSU came back from down 31-3 to beat Troy 40-31

BY THE NUMBERS 13 Consecutive quarters Alabama went without scoring a touchdown against Mississippi State before John Parker Wilson’s 1-yard quarterback sneak.