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Things aren’t easy for the University of Vanderbilt Commodores playing football in the SEC. They happen to play football in the toughest conference in the nation, and they do so at a school with more stringent academic requirements than competing schools, adding to their disadvantages. The results typically are not good, and there are not many bright spots or optimists amongst those making 2011 Vanderbilt football predictions. Challenging for the SEC East division crown isn’t really an option, so as you consider 2011 college football predictions, is something like an even .500 mark a possibility, or will it be another very, very long season in Nashville?

A .500 record would actually be great for Vanderbilt. Last season they won only two games, one against a non-conference gimme opponent, and another against fellow SEC bottom dweller Ole Miss. The bright side to that as you make 2011 Vanderbilt football predictions is that there is a lot of room for improvement, and there’s only one direction to go in, up. That’s what head coach James Franklin is preaching, and he hopes that some of those small baby steps forward can be made this year.

Most people making 2011 college football predictions will probably disagree with that though. Still, the season opens up with a very doable stretch of early games. The first three weeks of the season are all home games in Nashville, and they include games against Elon, Connecticut and Ole Miss. It’s very possible that Vanderbilt can emerge from that with at least a 2-1 record, and that would already match their total from last season. If they can unseat a solid Connecticut team and go 3-0, the team and the entire city would be on top of the world!

It would give the club and the fans a much needed boost of confidence, and from there things could gain momentum and spiral forward in a good way. The back to back road games against South Carolina and Alabama won’t be pretty after that, but still, Vanderbilt has other winnable dates on the calendar, like games against Army, Kentucky and Wake Forest.

Who knows, a few good bounces and some of that early confidence could be parlayed into close wins against middle of the pack SEC teams like Tennessee or Georgia. It’s a lot to ask for with your 2011 Vanderbilt football predictions, but stranger things have happened.

What the Commodores need is to emerge from those easy first three games with a winning record a positive shot to the arm that could jolt them to more wins down the road. If that happens, then the Vanderbilt may just move from last pace to .500 and respectability, and surprise everyone’s 2011 college football predictions. It certainly isn’t going to be easy, and it’s certainly not even likely. But you have to have optimism to move onward and upward after the recent seasons like Vanderbilt has had, and a .500 record in the SEC would do wonders for the school and its football program.

Check out Vernon Croy’s Florida Gators Football Predictions for 2011.

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