Something Nice - Vanderbilt When it comes to football, Vanderbilt is generally regarded as the doormat of the Southeastern Conference. (I know that's not something nice, but hey, it's true). Yes they have had many moments of ineptitude, but don't tell that to any SEC school that has to travel to Nashville on a cool Autumn day. Playing a game at Vandy can be a major pain in the ass. Just ask LSU who barely escaped Vanderbilt Stadium last year with a 7-6 victory. Or ask the Gators, who almost blew a 28-6 lead in their 1996 game before holding on for a 28-21 win. How about giving Lou Holtz a call, and asking him how he liked Vanderbilt Stadium? The Irish were trailing the 'Dores with under five minutes left in their '96 game. That same year, the visiting Tennessee Volunteers had to score late to beat Vandy. What I'm driving at is this, there's no such thing as an easy road game in the SEC. The home crowds in this conference are tough and Vanderbilt's are no exception. If a team waltzes into Nashville thinking they can coast to a win, they will get their heads handed to them on a platter. Vanderbilt Stadium is the newest football venue in the SEC. It was built in 1981 on the exact site of their old football stadium. The new place resembles the old place a great deal, with the exception of a new pressbox that is roughly eight times the size of the previous one. Vandy's original home, Dudley Field, opened for business on October 14, 1922 and was the first stadium built exclusively for football in the South. To celebrate the opening of the new 22,000 seat field, the school had an airplane fly overhead before the start of the game and drop the game ball. Vandy team captain, Jess Neely had this to say about the ceremony: "Coach McGugin had us all around him and he was squatting with his hands out in front of him, palms up. The plane dropped the ball at the center of the field; it took a high bounce, then landed right in Coach McGugin's outstretched hands. He didn't have to reach for it. It was a good omen." ( Excuse me Jess, but a good omen for what?) Dudley Field (which was named after Dr. William Dudley, who was instrumental in starting the NCAA) eventually expanded to 34,000 seats. But by the late 70's it was deemed not only too small, it lacked the amenities that other college stadiums had. The university decided to build a new stadium, and build one they did, right on top of Dudley Field. In December of 1980, VU began to demolish Dudley Field. Well, most of the place. They actually raised the bleachers on the West and East side stands (accounting for about 12,000 seats and each weighing 400 tons). After they raised the two sides, they sandblasted the sections and primed and painted them gray. So to this day some of the original Dudley Field remains. It took only nine months for the Commodores to open the doors to their new 42,000 seat stadium. The $10.1 million project was completed in time for the hometown 'Dores to beat the favored Maryland Terps of the Atlantic Coast Conference by the score of 23-17. (A sidenote here: The Terps lost their previous game, the '80 Tangerine Bowl to Florida and would lose to the Gators later in the '81 season). Dudley Field and Vanderbilt Stadium have seen some interesting games in their lives. The first game against Michigan, back in '22, is a good place to start: -Vanderbilt head coach Dan McGugin (who is third behind Bear Bryant and Vince Dooley in total number of wins by a coach at an SEC school) invited Michigan to play Vandy in the inaugural game at Dudley Field. McGugin went to Michigan and his brother-in- law, Fielding Yost was the Wolverines' head coach. Before the game McGugin (who kept pictures of both Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee on his desk) tried to fire up his team by saying (and I'm paraphrasing here because in my mass amount of football crap, I can't find the exact quote): think of those Michigan Wolverines as the relatives of the people who came down South and killed your relatives during the Civil War. It must have worked because Vandy held the Mighty Wolverines' to a 0-0 tie. The 'Dores were aided by a goaline stand just before halftime. Michigan had the ball on the Vandy two, but couldn't punch it in. -In 1937, Vandy and LSU, both with 4-0 records met in Nashville. The Tigers brought a 23 game win streak into the match and were looking for their third straight SEC title. Vandy had been practicing a version of the fumblerooski all week in practice and were planning on using it against the Tigers. Vandy head coach, Ray Morrison was worried the refs, not realizing it was a trick, would blow the play dead. He explained to the refs before the game what was going to happen and he even had Vanderbilt QB Bert Marshall turn to the referee before the snap and say, "Here it comes". The play fooled the Tigers and Vandy scored a touchdown. It was the only score of the day for Vandy, but it was just enough points for a 7-6 victory. The play would surface two other times that season and fail on both occasions. The mostly costly was in the Alabama game, where a Tide defender wasn't fooled and fell on the ball. The recovery led to a Bama score and a Tide victory. Not only did the Commodores lose the game, they lost out on an invitation to that January's Rose Bowl. The school that went? Alabama. -The Thursday before the Commodores game against Kentucky, Vandy head coach Red Sanders was taken to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. The 'Dores offensive line coach was named head coach for that Saturday's game. He did well as Vandy led 7-0 at the half. Sanders called at halftime from the hospital to encourage his troops. It worked for awhile, but Kentucky scored late to salvage a 7-7 tie. The offensive line coach for Vandy who got his first taste of being a head coach? Some fellow named Paul Bryant. -Paul "Bear" Bryant would return to Dudley Field as head coach of both Kentucky and Alabama and not lose. That is until 1969. The Tide were the number two team in the country. Things started off well for Bear's boys, as they jumped to a 3-0 lead, but as the night wore on, Vandy hung tough. Alabama led 10-7 late in the final quarter, but Vandy had mounted a drive that led deep into Bama territory. On 3rd down, from the Tide 10, Watson Brown hit Jimmy Cunningham with a TD pass to give the Commodores the win. It turned out to be the hi-lite of the Vandy season as the 'Dores limped home with a 4-6 record. -In 1983, the Georgia Bulldogs were riding a 20 game SEC win streak. They came to Nashville thinking Vandy would be an easy mark to push the number to 21. Georgia did win, but not before having the life scared out of them. Trailing 20-13 (10 of the points direct results of UGA turnovers) late in the game, the 'Dores mounted a drive. A 30 yard pass with :48 left got the ball inside the Dawg 40. They managed to get to the 30, but by now the clock was down to :20. Georgia defensive back Terry Hoage, who'd earlier picked off a pass to stop a Vandy threat late in the 1st half, came to the rescue. Vandy had a man behind the UGA defense in the endzone, but somehow, Hoage managed to leap and just barley deflect the ball away from the Vandy receiver (And I mean just barely. If you ever get a chance to watch this replay, you'll be amazed.). The Dawgs intercepted the next pass and escaped. The Florida Gators can vouch for how tough it is to play Vandy in Nashville. Overall the Gators are only 8-7-1 in games played at Dudley Field or Vanderbilt Stadium. The Gators had a winless streak from 1967 through 1991 (It was only four games and one was a tie, but still it was a long time). Steve Spurrier had a role in the last win and the win that ended the streak. The 13-0 '66 win, was led by quarterback Steve Spurrier . The win that broke the drought in 1992, was a 41-21 Spurrier coached victory. Vanderbilt Stadium is half the size of many of the SEC school's stadiums, but so what. It's located on a beautiful tree lined campus and with the exception of that synthetic substance they call turf, it's a fine place to watch a game. So go have fun while you're there, just don't take the game for granted.