Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers (11) rushes during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game against Wake Forest, Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, in Winston-Salem, N.C.The Vanderbilt Commodores go to a bowl game every year.
At least under James Franklin they do.
Vanderbilt’s first season under Franklin will continue New Year’s Eve, when the 6-6 Commodores will face Big East Conference co-champion Cincinnati at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. This will be just the fifth bowl trip for the Commodores, who endured a postseason drought between a 1982 Hall of Fame Bowl loss to Air Force and a 2008 Music City Bowl victory over Boston College.
“I think it’s a tremendous accomplishment,” Franklin said Sunday night. “Myself and my coaching staff have been here 11 months, and these kids have bought into everything we’ve asked them to do. We’ve had unbelievable leadership from our seniors, and these guys are the only seniors in the history of Vanderbilt to go to two bowls.
“They are taking a lot of pride in laying the foundation for great things to come.”