Preview
For the Eagles, this game was the culmination of their tenth consecutive season in a bowl game, a school record. They also entered the game on a streak of eight consecutive bowl wins, the best in Division I FBS. They ended the regular season on a four-game winning streak, but missed out on a chance to gain a BCS berth with a 30-12 loss to Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game. The Eagles still had a major milestone to play for, as a win would have given them a third consecutive 10-win season for the first time in school history.
Vanderbilt's recent football history was practically a reverse image of BC's. The Commodores, long hampered by being the only private school in the Southeastern Conference, had gone without a winning season since 1982, and entered the 2008 campaign with only three winning seasons in the last 50 years. While BC was on a streak of 10 consecutive bowl appearances, this was Vandy's first bowl game since a trip to the Hall of Fame Bowl in 1982, and only the fourth in their history.
Despite the Eagles' loss in the ACC title game, they clearly entered the game as the hotter team, winning their last four regular-season games, while Vandy had won only one of their last seven games. The Commodores started out 5-0 for the first time since 1943, rising as high as #13 in the AP Poll. However, their only win for the rest of the regular season was on November 15, when they visited Kentucky and left with a 31-24 win that secured their bowl eligibility.
Neither team was noted for its offensive prowess during the regular season. BC's offense gained an average of 318.5 yards per game, ranking 94th out of 119 FBS teams. Vandy's offense was statistically even weaker, ranking next-to-last in FBS at 260.9 yards per game. The main strength of both teams was defense. The Eagles entered the game ranked sixth in Division I FBS in total defense, giving up 273.4 yards per game. They also led Division I FBS in interceptions (26), turnovers (36), and shutouts (3), and boasted the ACC's defensive player of the year in linebacker Mark Herzlich, who returned two of his six interceptions for touchdowns. Vandy was a less impressive but still respectable 29th in total defense at 318.7 yards allowed per game, and also finished second in the SEC in interceptions with 18.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Music City Bowl
Famous quotes containing the word preview:
“For parents, the terrible twos are a psychological preview of puberty.... At the age of two or three, children eat only bananas and refuse to get a haircut. Ten years later, they eat only bananas and refuse to get a haircut.”
—Carin Rubenstein (20th century)