A look back at the Vanderbilt regular season, with some of the memorable performances, moments and quotes, as well as a GO FIGURE about Commodore football.
The Performances
One for the books: Redshirt junior safety Ryan Hamilton put on one of the greatest individual defensive performances in Vanderbilt history in the 23-17 win over Ole Miss that gave the Commodores their first national ranking since 1984. Hamilton intercepted three passes, including one for a touchdown and another to clinch the win as time expired, recovered a fumble and had a goal-line tackle on fourth down to stop the Rebels from scoring a go-ahead touchdown.
Mac comes through: Mackenzi Adams had his best game of the year at the right time, relieving Chris Nickson against then-No. 13 Auburn and throwing for 153 yards and two touchdowns to rally the Commodores to a 14-13 win. He also rushed for 54 yards to help keep the ball away from the Tigers late.
Graham torches UGA: Redshirt freshman Jamie Graham showed off his hops against Georgia, out-jumping Bulldog defensive backs for two touchdown catches, his first two career scores in an eventual 24-14 loss.
Marvelous Marve: There wasn't much to cheer about Vanderbilt's 10-7 loss to Duke on Homecoming, but redshirt freshman linebacker Chris Marve put on a show. Marve had 16 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble in the red zone to help Vanderbilt stay in striking distance.
Go D.J., ‘cause that's my D.J.: Junior D.J. Moore willed Vanderbilt to its first bowl eligibility in 26 years on both sides of the ball in a 31-24 win over Kentucky, catching two touchdown passes from Nickson at receiver and intercepting two passes as a cornerback.
Memroable Moments
Reinert revs up the crowd: Receiver Chris Reinert broke his leg in a collision in the fourth quarter against South Carolina, but he wasn't finished just yet. As he was carted off the field, the hard-working walk-on waved his arms in the air to pump up the Vanderbilt faithful. As the crowd roared, Jared Hawkins rumbled for a 14-yard touchdown on the next play for the winning points in the 24-17 victory.
D.J. struts his stuff: Up 31-21 against Rice, Moore had a dazzling 67-yard punt return to the 1-yard line of the Owls, setting up a sneak by Nickson to put the game away for the Commodores.
Heroic Hamilton: Down 10-0 early and with Ole Miss threatening to put the game away, Ryan Hamilton took matters into his own hands. The big junior safety snatched a throw from Jevan Snead and took it 79 yards to the house, the longest interception return by a Commodore in 42 years, to cut the lead to 10-7.
Thanks, Chris: With Ole Miss on the brink of scoring a late touchdown to take the lead, Chris Marve stripped the Rebels' Dexter McCluster of the football at the 2-yard line, allowing D.J. Moore to recover and Vanderbilt to escape with the victory.
Lee disses Vanderbilt: Lee Corso tosses the Commodore head away on College GameDay, putting on an Auburn helmet to show whom he thought would win and drawing boos from the Vanderbilt fans. We know what happened next.
The team takes a curtain call: With a 14-13 home win over Auburn, Vanderbilt was off to its best start in 65 years, and the fans wanted the players to know it. After the Commodores left the field, the Vanderbilt Stadium fans were still so ecstatic, Bobby Johnson sent his players back onto the field for a curtain call.
At long last: D.J. Moore sealed the 31-24 win over Kentucky, jumping a slant route for the interception and setting of a wild celebration on the Vanderbilt sideline and back in Nashville, where the Vanderbilt Stadium foghorn sounded and could be heard all across campus.
Go Figure
51: Chris Marve's solo tackle amount, best on the team
4: Number of Vanderbilt opponent coaches who won't be returning next season (including SEC coaches Philip Fulmer, Sylvester Croom and Tommy Tuberville)
6: Interceptions by D.J. Moore, tied for second-most in the nation
27.3: Average points scored by the Commodores in their six wins
11.5: Average points scored by the Commodores in their six losses
12: Sacks registered by Vanderbilt's front four this year
6: Number of games Vanderbilt had televised on ESPN networks this season
3: Number of games Vanderbilt had televised on ESPN networks the previous two seasons
10-23: Combined record of Mississippi State, Duke and Tennessee against non-Vanderbilt opponents
30-14: Combined record of South Carolina, Rice, Ole Miss and Kentucky against non-Vanderbilt opponents
2: Losses in a row by Steve Spurrier to Bobby Johnson
3: Number of Vanderbilt defensive players given national awards (Patrick Benoist against South Carolina, Ryan Hamilton against Ole Miss, D.J. Moore against Kentucky)
117: Vanderbilt's Rank out of 119 teams in NCAA in total offense
1-4: Vanderbilt record when Bryant Hahnfeldt didn't kick a field goal
58: Number of years since Vanderbilt started 3-0 in conference play
65: Number of years since Vanderbilt started 5-0
2: Number of times Vanderbilt scored first this season
2-15: Vanderbilt's record in November since 2003
1,362,000: Bobby Johnson's estimate on how many he times he was asked when or if Vanderbilt would get a sixth win this season
Quotable Commodores
"It was my way of saying, ‘Guys, forget about me - think about winning this game. I just wanted to get everyone and the team back to being excited about the game."
--Receiver Chris Reinert on pumping up the crowd as he was carted off the field with a broken leg against South Carolina
"God Almighty."
Coach Bobby Johnson can't believe it when a reporter's cell phone goes off while being interviewed at practice and the ring tone is none other than "Rocky Top."
"(Lee) Corso will pick us as the underdog or the winner, and it doesn't matter to us. It's nice to get respect as a team, but we never worry about what other people think."
-Receiver Sean Walker on College GameDay coming to Vanderbilt
"This is what coaches live for."
-Johnson after the 14-13 win over Auburn on the players' jubilation in the locker room
"It's like anything else in life. When you have a setback you have to climb over the obstacle. You have to progress and that's what we're going to try to do."
-Linebacker Chris Marve after Vanderbilt's 10-7 loss to Duke, its third in a row
"We went into this game thinking we could beat Florida. If you go into a game and you think you're going to lose, you might as well not even put the uniform on. Plain and simple."
-Center Brad Vierling after the Commodores fell 42-14 to Florida
"It's an unbelievable feeling, and the best way to describe it right now would be ‘wow.'"
-Quarterback Chris Nickson after Vanderbilt clinched bowl eligibility with a 31-24 win over Kentucky.
