5 Thoughts ... 2008
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Vanderbilt 16 ... Boston College 14
GAME RECAP:
Vandy holds on to get by BC
-
2008
CFN Music City Bowl Preview
-
2008
Music City
Bowl
Player Profiles, Histories, & More
 |
1. Vandy punter Brett Upson was
the most influential player in
this game. Cornerback D.J. Moore
showed incredible guts playing
through an injury and tackling
better than just about anyone
else for the Commodores. The
whole Vandy team produced an
inspired effort that was also
turnover-free and penalty-free,
while BC mistakes--more than
anything else--led to the
Eagles' demise. But with all
this having been said, the truly
special story to emerge from
this contest is the story of VU
placekicker Bryant Hahnfeldt.
This man has missed (or had
blocked) a great many
end-of-game field goals in his
career, and he's had to shoulder
the burden of several
particularly agonizing losses
that prevented past Vandy teams
from reaching bowl games. For
this man to hammer a winning
45-yard kick in the midwinter
cold, and ride into the sunset
of his football playing days
with the memory of a lifetime,
represents the very best of
sports. Bryant Hahnfeldt
reminded all of us about the
power of perseverance. His story
reminds me why I still care
about sports, despite all of its
problems, prima donnas, punks,
and pea-brained power brokers. -
Matthew
Zemek
2. Offense? Who needs offense?
Vanderbilt hasn't shown any
semblance of offense all season
long and it kept up its M.O.
against a great Boston College
defense. 198 yards, eight first
downs, 1-of-15 third down
conversions, and no running game
whatsoever ... one bowl win. The
defense wasn't exactly USC, but
it held firm when it had to late
and the special teams did enough
to overcome the woeful attack.
Vanderbilt will never be a
special SEC team, but it proved
this season that it can win with
the right mix, just enough
timely offense, and great
coaching. When the last bowl win
was 1955, a 16-14 victory, no
matter how it looks, is still
special. -
Pete
Fiutak
3. It’s been a bad postseason
for long bowl streaks. On
Christmas Eve, Notre Dame
snapped its nine-game skid.
Earlier this afternoon, Houston
won for the first time in its
last nine tries. And in
Nashville, Vanderbilt ended
Boston College’s eight-game bowl
winning streak, while picking up
its first bowl win since 1955.
All you had to do was watch the
Commodores celebrate like it won
a national championship to
understand why more bowl games
in December aren’t such a bad
thing. With a reduced slate, a
program like Vanderbilt might
have to wait another
half-century before bringing
home a bowl trophy. -
Richard Cirminiello
4. It was fitting that
Vanderbilt ended the Music City
Bowl with a turnover, a Myron
Lewis interception to end Boston
College’s bid for a comeback in
the final minutes. It was the
takeaway, and the play of the
defense in general, that helped
the ‘Dores get to the postseason
in the first place. Sure, it was
ugly, like so many of the team’s
wins in the regular season, but
good luck convincing
long-suffering Vandy fans that
it was anything short of a work
of art. Despite going 1-of-15 on
third downs and managing a mere
199 yards of total offense, the
Commodores somehow found a way
to eke out one of its biggest
wins ever. It was the Vandy
blueprint in 2008. -
Richard Cirminiello
5. Uhhhh, ACC, wasn't
this supposed to be your coming
out party as a conference? The
league hasn't exactly made its
mark, and for all the problems
across the board, outside of
Florida State's win over
Wisconsin, this one really
hurts. Not only did the SEC beat
the ACC twice on New Year's Eve
day, with Georgia Tech getting
swamped by LSU, but Boston
College, the ACC runner-up, lost
to Vanderbilt. No offense, okay,
a little offense, but Vanderbilt
isn't any good. This is a
mid-level SEC team that just
barely got into the post-season.
If the ACC was really all of
that, it's supposed second best
team should've come out and
swamped a team like this. The BC
defense did its job, but the the
offense wasn't able to come
through with any semblance of
clutch play. Now the focus this
entire off-season will be on
Jeff Jagodzinski's offense. Can
it really get back on track
without Matt Ryan? It couldn't
this year, and a great defensive
performance went to waste.
-
Pete
Fiutak