Letters… we get letters… we get stacks and stacks of letters…
Question from Kslaught:
Iowa does appear to have a good defense. Teams like this have given us some problems this year. Will we be able to score on them enough to win?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: Vanderbilt is the 8th highest scoring offense in the country. The only 2 defenses that held us under Iowa’s average offensive output (28.9 points per game) were Missouri and Alabama. Iowa has a really good defense, but I think Vanderbilt’s roster is in an interesting spot where a lot
of guys will have things to prove in this game. Pavia wants to make a last statement in his college career. Players who might be coveted by other programs can make a splash to drive up what they will command via NIL and revenue sharing. Players who Vanderbilt might try to recruit over in the portal also can make one last statement as to why coaches can promote from within to keep the trajectory moving upwards. Granted, the last point is more than just one game, but if they have been trying to make that point in bowl practices then they should be well prepared to play well in the game.
So, yeah, I think the offense that has scored 31, 38 (only counting regulation), 45, and 45 points in their last 4 games will be firing on all cylinders still. Those outputs were +11, +17, +19, and +16 to those teams’ average points allowed. Going +15ish to Iowa’s 15.2 points allowed per game would give us 30 points, which is better than Iowa’s offensive average. I like the Dores chances there.
Cole Sullivan: We do appear to have arguably the best offense. Teams like that will give Iowa problems any year. We will be able to score on them enough to win.
Andrew VU ‘04: We were literally only held under 20 points twice this season, and we won one of those games—17-10 over Missourah (spits). Sure, we will not have Stowers in the game, but our backup TEs have been more than capable, and we’ve still got Diego and the Boys (Dirty Mike can’t come). Iowa always tries to drag teams into the muck and play a defensive slugfest. This has been true of every Iowa team in my lifetime. We’ve got the film. Though I will agree it was impressive that Iowa held Oregon, Indiana, and Iowa State at 20 pts or fewer, they did lose two of those games. I think Diego goes out on top in dominant fashion, as he’s no longer auditioning for the Heisman committee, but for 32 NFL teams.
Oh, and Cole Spence, who should be the starting TE in this game, is coming back for ‘26. Just announced.
Question from BCwright54:
Will we have hear talking heads bitch about Pavia’s post-Heisman rant before, during, and after the game? And, do these people recognize the difference between what an early 20’s athlete says and what a middle aged coach (Michigan) does?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: I might hear it before or after, but I doubt after since I will be somewhere in Tampa ringing in the New Year. There might be some mention, but I doubt it controls the narrative. The media generally use bowls as a celebration and will ignore scandals for the most part.
Cole Sullivan: Yes because anger and reactionism have increasingly fueled all media since the rise of cable television in the 70’s and 80’s.
Andrew VU ‘04: I mean, if you feel like watching them, yes. I’ll be hitting the town instead.
Question from VU1970:
QFTMB: seeing as how it has only been 70 years since our last Florida bowl appearance, are we going back too soon? Or should we have waited some more?
Also, since Iowa lost to four ranked teams by a total of 15 points, will any of those teams still be ranked after we beat the Hawkeyes?
Lastly, should mainstream sports sites display blowhard opinions as “news” items?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: No. Bowls are supposed to be fun for the players and fans. Tampa and Orlando are fun cities for college kids. They also carry some prestige. Saying a team is coming off a Gator, ReliaQuest (Outback), or Citrus Bowl appearance (win!) just carries some hype that a Birmingham, Mayo, Liberty, Texas, or Music City Bowl appearance does not. Obviously, the latter group has further prestige striations, but the Florida bowls for the SEC are viewed as the real prizes secondary to the CFP.
I know this is a silly question, but Oregon is going to murder Texas Tech. My head says Indiana will beat Alabama, but the stupid bias in the back of my head still says “It’s Bama versus Indiana. In FOOTBALL.” So, yes.
No. It is ridiculous that people treat Barstool and every Dude Bro podcast as worthy of press and air time. There are some good ones, even within the Vanderbilt sphere, but even they should rarely be treated as real news except for insider info on things like coaching contracts/searches and recruiting. Having access to that info does not mean they are good analysts or are unbiased reporters. Unaffiliated Dude Bro podcasts are generally just audio clickbait.
Cole Sullivan: WHaat? Too soon? I don’t get it. Half of all bowl games are in Florida. Or something. Did you want us to go to Shreveport instead? And again, what? You think any pollster thinks that far in the chain of wins and losses? Voters are all alcoholics who just glance at box scores (I know a guy who ran the poll for a few years and he said as much; most voters got their ballots in minutes before the poll was published because they were just waking up, hungover from the night before. He said voters from Iowa were always the worst offenders, so even they will be too out-of-their-mind to remember). And no, but, what are we going to do about it? Why worry. Just let people be mad.
Andrew VU ‘04: Personally, barring a CFP bid we were never going to get, I wanted a bowl I could drive to, as I am frugal as hell. So yeah, my bank account isn’t liking this trip, but this team has earned my airfare.
As for your second joke, it will be pretty funny when both Oregon and Indiana have to forfeit against Texas Tech and Alabama, respectively on 1/1, but rules are rules.
Finally, I legitimately hate what has become of sports media. Nothing but blowhards and Man-o-Sphere idiots. It’s why us Pinman hailers do this bloggy thing. Better to be part of the solution than the particulate. We control the narrative of Vanderbilt sports, not, umm… Theo Von.
Question from DoreFanInDallas:
Do you think that Diego Pavia will get drafted by an NFL team? The best comparison I can think of is Doug Flutie, who was a late round draft choice and played in the CFL before being pretty much a back up in the NFL. Regardless, do you think VU should erect a statue of Pavia given his accomplishments of the last two seasons and all the pleasure he has brought VU football fans?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: I doubt he gets drafted, and it has nothing to do with “maturity” or whatever else. He’s short. I will be curious to see if he gets an NFL Combine invite. I would think he would since teams will want to get real measurables on him. Definitely ends up in someone’s camp though unless he decides to take the CFL route or go straight into coaching. My guess would be battling in camp.
I will say no on the statue. If he had won the Heisman, he gets one. As it is, it leaves open some silly, arbitrary “vibes” decision about how gets a statue. Maybe do something honorific with the #2 or do plaques for All-Americans. I don’t think he was even a consensus All-American though. Believe Stowers hit that mark.
Cole Sullivan: Seems unlikely. I think he will still sign with the Jets or something, and the three quarterbacks ahead of him will all get hurt, and then he will play a few games and do well.
Andrew VU ‘04: I do. I mean, if The Cleve thought it wise to take Dillon Gabriel in the 4th, and both Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield in the first in previous seasons, there’s no reason Diego Pavia cannot also be taken by Cleveland.
Question from Tom Stephenson:
QFTMB: My parents bought me Vanderbilt gear for Christmas but it has the new logo on it. Should I exchange it or burn it?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: Nah. We’re stuck with it. The Star V variations are growing on me. My biggest gripe was losing any sort of uniqueness.
Cole Sullivan: CAST IT INTO THE FIRE!
Andrew VU ‘04: Just wear it. It ain’t going anywhere soon.
Question from Jeturn:
Can we air our grievances? Where is our bowl game contest? SEC Referees. Lack of recent Bowling National Championships. Others?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: I don’t have many around Vanderbilt athletics right now. There are 7 teams ranked in the Top 15 of the most-used poll for their sport. The baseball preseason polls are not out yet, so it will likely be 8 Top 15 teams with a bowl win and as long as MBB and WBB do not collapse to start SEC play.
Cole Sullivan: Change the logo.
Andrew VU ‘04: My main grievance is that Vanderbilt baseball has been merely good in the NIL era, and not the dominant program I had become accustomed to from 2007-2020. Feetball and Shooty hoops have been on a rocket ship trajectory I did not anticipate when this whole pay-for-play thingy started.
Question from VandyMike:
For the mailbag: what is the over and under of years Lane Kiffin will last at LSU?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: I would set it at 4 years, but I think it is way more likely to be a 6+ year stay with success than it is to be 2 or 3 years before being fired. Maybe Kiffin thinks someone else will outdo LSU in terms of resources, but that seems unlikely.
Cole Sullivan: Let me start by saying that I think Lane Kiffin succeeds at LSU, and that there is only one job in the country that would pull him away from Baton Rouge. I don’t think Kalen DeBoer is going anywhere anytime soon, so I think the over/under is high. I am going to say 6 years. He gets two years pretty much automatically. He probably puts a great season together at least one of those years, or maybe the third year, but falls short of a national championship, and the entire college football universe overreacts. That third or fourth year is mired in some off-the-field controversy that only adds to the vitriol directed at him by college football fans write large. He is winning too much for it to matter to LSU fans, though, who defend their man to the death. Maybe he wins a title, maybe he doesn’t, but by the end of the fifth year it is clear he is too successful to fire (I assume he has some crazy big buyout, which contributes to the decision to retain him). Now, there is a lot that will have changed in college football by then. I am not going to forecast much past that fifth year, but there is so much time between now and then that I think the Lane Train hits a fork in the road sometime in that fifth year. Who’s really to say, though?
Andrew VU ‘04: I’ll set it at 4, because there is no way in hell Lane stays loyal in this job when he has never once shown any loyalty to an employer. I mean, good God, who the hell bails on a CFP run just because there is a slightly better jerb available in a slightly hotter, slightly more humid state??? Further, you cannot tell me Lane avoids a Bobby Petrino road rash scandal in Baton Rouge. Have you seen the women in that town??? DACOACHO couldn’t fill his damned gas without having his tongue unroll on the asphalt and eyes pop out like a cartoon wolf. Having lived there in my 20s, I do not blame him.
Question from Andrew VU ’04:
So I’m temporarily suspending my hatred for all things in this Jorts-filled state for the purposes of going to the bowl game. I’ll be in Tampa for a few days before the game, as well, with a friend (and his 10 year old son). So… just what the hell is there to do in Tampa?
Answers from AoG:
PatrickSawyer: Unfortunately, the Lightning play home games December 28th and January 6th with nothing in between, so they are not an option. Beyond that, Busch Gardens, ZooTampa at Lowry Park, and The Florida Aquarium exist. I have not been to any of them. Apparently, the Riverwalk is cool and hosts a Top 10 Fireworks display for NYE.
Cole Sullivan: There is a Bay, I’ve heard. Perhaps you could do Bay things?
Andrew VU ‘04: I don’t know. I asked the damn question for a reason. I hate this Jorts-filled, meth’d-up, wang-shaped state. Commentariat, give us things to do in Tampa in the comments.
