NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson sees his Commodores improving week by week. Now he is ready for them to take the next step. <br>
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``We'd love to get a win this week,'' Johnson said Monday at his weekly news conference. <br>
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``I think that would sort of be very gratifying and prove to our guys if you do work hard and you do execute hard, you can win in this league. I think we have enough players if we do execute well, we have a chance to be in every game we play.'' <br>
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The Commodores (1-2, 0-2) lost their 11th straight Southeastern Conference game last weekend, but they sure came close before falling 45-38 at Mississippi. If not for three turnovers, Vandy might have ended a drought that stretches back to November 2000. <br>
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But a team featuring 27 Commodores on the two-deep roster who are sophomores or younger didn't fall apart after falling behind 38-17. They rallied with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the first time Vandy had scored 21 points in the final period in 11 years. <br>
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``We didn't panic, and our guys came back,'' Johnson said. <br>
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Now the Commodores head home where they will play five of their next six games starting Saturday night against South Carolina (2-2, 0-1). The Commodores' only victory came over Division I-AA Furman, but Johnson can point to several bright spots in the most recent loss. <br>
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Vandy hadn't scored 38 points against an SEC opponent since a 43-30 victory over Georgia in 1994, and the Commodores had two running backs rush for at least 100 yards each for the first time since that 1994 game. <br>
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They racked up 464 yards total offense, and they currently rank fourth in the SEC averaging 218.2 yards rushing per game. They held the ball for nearly 34 minutes. <br>
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They also committed only two penalties, the fewest since a victory over Texas Christian in 1997. The Commodores are the SEC's least penalized team with just 23 penalties and 154 yards. <br>
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The high point was the performance of freshman Kwane Doster. He had the best all-purpose performance in the country so far this season with 344 total yards as he ran for 101 yards and had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown among 243 yards returning. <br>
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That set a Vandy record for all-purpose yards, topping Frank Mordica's 321 yards rushing against Air Force in 1978. <br>
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Johnson said the lack of experience is helping his Commodores ignore the program's history that includes 19 consecutive losing seasons as the SEC's cellar dweller. <br>
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``Youth has no fear right now. We tell them if you execute, you're going to have a chance to be successful. I think they're learning that. We've gotten better probably each week ... because they're starting to believe in the things we're doing,'' Johnson said. <br>
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``We're learning about them. They're learning about us. It's kind of fun."
