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Vanderbilt ends bowl drought, shocks Boston College

Jan 1, 2009 - 3:26 AM NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- As far as odds go, it was the most unexpected of results. A nine-game bowl winning streak butted heads with a 53-year drought ... and the underdog came out on top.

Vanderbilt posted its first bowl victory since 1955 on Wednesday, edging Boston College, 16-14, in the Music City Bowl.

"We wanted to be called winners, we wanted to be called champions and we will," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "We will be the Music City Bowl champions, we will have a winning season and all of these things are extremely important to a program that is trying to move up, especially in a tough league that we play in."

Bryan Hahnfeldt's 45-yard field goal put the Commodores on top with 3:26 remaining and they held on with a defensive stand in the last two minutes to record just the second bowl win in school history.

"It felt great," Hahnfeldt said of his game-winner. "When you hit a good kick, you usually don't feel the ball come hit your foot because you get it on the sweet spot. Even though it was cold, I didn't feel it too much and as soon as I hit it, I kind of knew."

In the process, Vandy (7-6) snapped Boston College's eight-game bowl winning streak - which was the longest in the nation. The Commodores gave the Golden Eagles one last chance to extend it in the game's waning minutes, as they went three-and-out and were forced to punt with just over two minutes on the clock.

But BC quarterback Dominique Davis was picked off by Myron Lewis at the 1:36 mark, clinching the upset victory for Vanderbilt.

"We had to get focused and make a play," Lewis said of the final drive. "I feel like a champion. It feels really good."

The opportunistic Commodores were able to capitalize on key mistakes. Facing a 7-6 deficit in the third quarter, they caught a major break that allowed them to pull ahead. Brett Upson's punt ricocheted off a Boston College player and bounced to the goal line as a slew of Vanderbilt players leapt toward the ball. In the end, freshman defensive back Sean Richardson came out with the ball, scoring an unusual go-ahead touchdown.

"The funny thing is I didn't even know it hit him. I was behind three Boston College players," said Upton, who was named the game's MVP after booting nine punts, landing three inside the 20-yard line. "We did mostly rugby punts all day and I felt like I hit those pretty good. You have to drop them going into the wind. The wind was playing a big role ... out there today in the kicking game."

The Golden Eagles (9-5) answered midway through the final quarter, as Davis connected with freshman wideout Colin Larmond for a 55-yard scoring strike down the right sideline to put Boston College ahead, 14-13. But the Commodores were up to the task on the ensuing drive, marching 49 yards on seven plays - taking advantage of a crucial roughing-the-passer penalty on BC linebacker Mark Herzlich - to set up Hahnfeldt's game-winner.

"We love being on the field in crunch time," Herzlich said. "We wanted to be out there and we had momentum. A couple things went against us, two big penalties and they ran an under route for 20 yards. We ended up stopping them on third down and made them kick a field goal. That is how it went."

Vanderbilt managed just 199 yards of total offense but took advantage of three turnovers. The school's only other bowl triumph was a 25-13 win over Auburn in the 1955 Gator Bowl. The Commodores are now 2-1-1 all-time in bowl appearances.

Freshman quarterback Larry Smith completed 10 of 16 passes for 122 yards and did not turn the ball over. His counterpart, Davis, was just 15-of-36 for 189 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions.