Oct. 17, 2011
Vanderbilt will look to put the brakes on a three-game losing streak when it hosts Army for homecoming at 6 p.m. CT (ESPNU) on Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium.
However, the most talked about topic at Monday’s weekly press conference with Head Coach James Franklin was not about Army. Instead it was about what transpired on the field after Saturday’s game against Georgia when a heated exchange took place between members of both teams.
“I had a conversation with Coach (Mark) Richt Sunday morning,” Franklin said. “I called him Sunday morning man-to-man. We had a discussion. I appreciated talking to him. I hope he appreciated talking to me. We have a very, very talented commissioner. He will do what he thinks is right and we will move forward.
“We had a hard fought battle with a lot of passion, with a lot of emotion. The momentum swung back and forth and some things got a little bit out of hand. I know both of us would have liked the game to have ended a little bit differently and be able to walk off the field and move forward.”
The game was extremely physical on both sides of the ball and included a lot of trash talking among the players.
“There was a lot of extracurricular stuff going on, but we take pride in playing with a lot of intensity,” Johnson said. “That was just a side effect of that.”
Franklin noted after the game that he and the team will not back down from anyone, and he stated it again at Monday’s press conference.
“We are trying to change the culture and we are trying to build a program here,” Franklin said. “I just want to make sure everyone realizes that things have changed. We are going to represent Vanderbilt the right way. We are going to do it with class, and we are going to do it with dignity, but we are not going to be pushed around; we are not going to be intimidated.”
Franklin’s willingness to stand up for his players Saturday was recognized by his players.
“We already have a lot of respect for him,” Johnson said. “He has our back and he’s proving it in what he has been doing around the program, but literally he will go fight for us and it means a lot to us.”
Reputation changing
In previous years, Vanderbilt had developed a reputation for letting negative plays snowball into something much greater. This season, Franklin has worked hard to change that mindset from setting in again, and he has seen the results.
“When I got here, people told me that when something bad happened the whole team used to hang their heads and you could see the body language,” Franklin said. “I don’t think that is happening anymore. I look in their eyes. They are competing. Every time they are challenged, they step up and do everything they possibly can to step up to the challenge and embrace it.”
Last Saturday, the Commodores trailed by double digits on four occasions, but were able to get back to single digits each time. The UConn game is another example of the team fighting to the finish despite facing a deficit.
“This isn’t the same old Vandy,” offensive tackle Wesley Johnson said. “I know that is what a lot of people refer to it as. We aren’t doing that anymore. We are done with that. We are moving on. It is a new era.”
Slowing down Army
When you play a military academy in football, opposing defenses know what to expect: the run. But even though people realize the run is coming, it doesn’t make it any easier to stop.
For proof, just take one look at the annual team rushing leaders.
Army, Air Force and Navy all rank in the top four nationally in rushing this season. Army leads everyone with an average of 361 yards per game.
To slow down, the Black Knights, Vanderbilt’s defense knows how fundamentally sound they must play.
“The challenge is just being disciplined,” safety Javon Marshall said. “Army really focuses on what they can do well and running the option as fast as they can. We have to be disciplined in our keys and our reads and come up and attack the option offense all game.”
Even though Army is 2-4 this season, Coach Franklin understands the challenges that a military academy presents.
“You are playing a team with a bunch of guys that are willing to die for a cause they believe in,” Franklin said. “That is how committed they are. We have tremendous respect for them and what they do for our country. But our guys better know what they are about to face. They are about to face a group of guys that when they commit to something, they commit to it with everything they have.”
Because of the uniqueness of Army’s offense, Franklin and his staff spent some time game planning for the Black Knights as early as the summer.
“We game planned our first three opponents pretty much complete (in the summer),” Franklin said. “We knew we would go back and tweak it the week of the game and we also said we were going to go back and look at Army and do the same thing for them.
“I don’t think this is a game that you can get prepared for them just in one week. You better have done some studies in the summer and we did that.”
Starting quarterback not named
Franklin said Monday that he is yet to name a starting quarterback for Saturday’s game. The Commodores have started Larry Smith in each game this season, but backup Jordan Rodgers has seen time in every game.
Last Saturday, Franklin inserted Rodgers for Smith in the first half after Smith had thrown two interceptions.
“We will make that (quarterback) decision on Wednesday,” Franklin said. “I did think Jordan did some nice things from a competitive standpoint with his athleticism and his legs. There are lot of other things that Jordan, that Larry that a lot of our other players need to improve on.”
Franklin did note that he would like to get to where he used just one quarterback.
“At the quarterback position, you’d always like to get to the point of having just one guy play.”
Forgettable game in 2009
Vanderbilt and Army last met during the 2009 season in West Point when Army pulled out a 16-13 win in overtime.
The loss was Vanderbilt’s second in a row of eight straight losses to end the season. It was also Vanderbilt’s third loss in its last four meetings with Army.
Kicker Ryan Fowler hit a 41-yard field goal that banged off the left upright before going in to tie the score at 13 with 52 seconds to play.
In overtime, it appeared Vanderbilt would score a touchdown on its only possession, but Warren Norman fumbled at the 1-yard line and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback. Following the fumble, Army kicked a 42-yard field goal to win the game.
Vanderbilt posted 304 yards of offense, but its only touchdown of the game came on special teams when Norman returned a kick 76 yards for a touchdown.
Army quarterback Trent Steelman, who is from Bowling Green, Ky., gained 97 yards rushing and completed 7-of-16 passes for 47 yards. Steelman was just a freshman at the time and is still the Black Knights’ quarterback in 2011.
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