Know Your Opponent: Vanderbilt

The 1951 Gators were the first to defeat Vanderbilt in
Gainesville. Explosive runs by quarterback Haywood Sullivan
were key to the Gators' blowout victory on Homecoming.
The Seminole

The Gators return to the Swamp for the first time in over a month to face the Commodores of Vanderbilt University. In 1872, Southern Methodist leaders, led by cleric Holland McTyeire, voted to establish a "Central University" in Nashville, Tennessee for the purpose of training ministers. However, the school lacked the necessary funding until McTyeire met Cornelius Vanderbilt in New York the following year. Vanderbilt, whose wife was the cousin of McTyeire's, was the wealthiest man in the United States at that time, having made millions in the steamboat industry and other endeavors. McTyeire convinced the aging Vanderbilt, who never visited the South, to donate part of his fortune towards the establishment of Central University. Vanderbilt had contributed much to the U.S. Navy in an effort to defeat the Confederacy during the Civil War, but wished to help reconcile the sectionalized nation. The university was dedicated to Vanderbilt when it opened in 1875, although Vanderbilt himself never visited the school before his death in 1877. By 1914, Vanderbilt University had severed all ties with the Methodist Church. Vanderbilt is the smallest and only private university in the Southeastern Conference, and enrolls just under 13,000 students (almost 7,000 of which are undergrads). The school colors are black and gold.

Vanderbilt has an old tradition of playing football, but has only enjoyed modest and sparing success since their first game in 1890. The nickname "Commodores" originated in 1897, an homage to the personal nickname of shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt himself. Vanderbilt joined the Southern Conference (SoCon) before its inaugural season in 1922 and won part of the first two SoCon championships. The Commodores were charter members of the Southeastern Conference in 1933, but have yet to win an SEC title. Vanderbilt is the only founding member of the SEC still without a conference championship (Sewanee, who departed the SEC in 1940, is the only other charter member without a title). The Commodores play home games in Vanderbilt Stadium, the SEC’s smallest football facility. Vanderbilt Stadium has a capacity of about 40,000.

Unlike most its conference brethren, Vanderbilt has never won an SEC or national title. Vandy has played in only seven bowl games in over 12 decades of playing the sport and only won four. In addition, the Commodores have never won more than nine games in one season; since 1890, Vanderbilt has had four nine-win seasons (1904, 1915, 2012, and 2013). The 1904 squad was one of the greatest of its era, going undefeated and untied through nine games and outscoring opponents by an incredible margin of 474 to 4. The 1922 Southern Conference champions were another great team, going 8-0-1 and shutting out seven of nine opponents (their lone tie was to Michigan, who also finished the season unbeaten). Both the 1904 and 1922 teams were led by head coach Dan McGugin, the greatest head ball coach in Vanderbilt history. McGugin (1904–1934) ended with a 197-55-19 record in 30 seasons at Vanderbilt. In recent times, the 2012 Commodores stand out as the finest fielded by the university. The 2012 Commodores went 9-4, only losing games to South Carolina, Northwestern, Georgia, and Florida (those teams would finish the season ranked 8th, 17th, 5th, and 9th, respectively, by the AP); the 2012 team started their season 2-4, but finished with seven consecutive victories, a 41-18 victory over Tennessee, and a 23rd place ranking in the final AP poll.

Three fourth-quarter touchdowns lifted Florida past Vandy in
1969. John Reaves tossed three touchdown passes to Carlos
Alvarez that day while safety Steve Tannen made two timely
interceptions and blocked a PAT. The Seminole

In the early days of Vanderbilt football, Sewanee was the Commodores' most important rival. Both were small private schools in central Tennessee, but powerhouses in Southern football. Over time, Sewanee declined and the Sewanee-Vanderbilt rivalry became one-sided, eventually ending in 1944 (Vandy leads, 40-8-4). For the last century, Tennessee has been Vanderbilt's primary antagonist. Tennessee and Vanderbilt have played on 109 occasions since the rivalry began in 1892. Vanderbilt had a decided edge in the earliest decades, winning 19 of the first 23 games against Tennessee while only losing twice. However, the tide turned against Vanderbilt after Tennessee hired Robert Neyland as head coach. Since Neyland began his third year at UT in 1928, Tennessee has beaten Vandy 72 times while Vanderbilt has only beaten Tennessee 11 times. Today, Tennessee holds a 74-30-5 advantage in the series. Still, nothing contributes more to the success of a Vanderbilt season than upsetting the Volunteers of Knoxville.

Florida and Vanderbilt have been playing football against each other since 1945, although the series has only been played annually since 1992. The Gators and Commodores have played a total of 48 times; Florida has defeated Vanderbilt on 36 occasions, while Vandy has triumphed over Florida just 10 times (two games have ended as ties). Florida won 22 straight games in the series from 1989 to 2012 and 19 straight games at home from 1951 to 2011. In 2013, Vanderbilt snapped these long-standing losing streaks by defeating the Gators 34-17 in Gainesville. Both Florida’s 1996 and 2006 national championship squads were nearly upset by inspired Vanderbilt teams. Quarterback Jay Cutler led the Commodores into overtime with the Gators in 2005, but couldn’t seal the upset.