Shutting down teams in the second half has rarely been a staple of Vanderbilt football. This year however, it has been the key to the team's success.

In 2006 the Commodores lost five games by two scores or less, finishing at 4-8. The 2007 team also lost five games by two scores or less, three of which occurred when Vanderbilt only needed one more victory to become bowl eligible. They couldn't capitalize in those games, and finished the season at 5-7, one shy of the necessary six wins for bowl eligibility.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Chris Marve, whose heroic forced fumble was the key play in the victory over Mississippi, was quick to distance this team from last year's collapsing Commodores.

"That was last year, this is a new year. This is a different team and we're doing different things," Marve said. "Hopefully, we'll keep winning ... People talk about last year (when) we weren't a good second half team, got shut down in the fourth quarter. A lot of teams came back on us and beat us in the second half of games. We take pride in finishing the games now. I feel like we're doing a better job this year."

During the campaign to date, the Commodores have changed their tone, and have gone on to win their first four games. Standout junior safety Ryan Hamilton, who put an exclamation point on last week's win with a game-ending interception, takes pride in that new attitude.

"I feel we're playing really well and we're playing hard," Hamilton said. "We're determined to win every game and just finish them out well. A couple of years ago, a couple of those games we wouldn't have toughened out. We're a different team now."

It is evident the anguish from recent years' heartbreaking losses has affected this team; the crispness, verve and intensity the team, and especially the defense, has shown this season has been electrifying. The Commodores have outscored their opponents in the second half in each of their first four games. They outscored Miami (Ohio) by 4 in a blowout victory, South Carolina 21-7 in a come-from-behind thriller, Rice 17-0 to break away from a halftime tie and Ole Miss 6-0 to escape another tie at the half.

The total comes to a 51-10 advantage for Vanderbilt in the second half this season. Vanderbilt's average point differential in the second half is over 10 and they are only allowing an average of 2.5 points a game in the second half. Combining those two statistics with the fact that this defense has shut out two solid offenses in a row in the second half is a testament to the Commodores' second-half determination.

In many of the games so far, however, the Commodores have needed their second half advantage to bail them out of bad first halves or break away from tied games.

Redshirt junior running back Jared Hawkins enjoys his team's performance in the second half, but recognizes a need for better first half performance.

"We've definitely become a second half team," Hawkins said. "We want to make sure we keep that going. The biggest thing is to make sure that we come out in the first half like we do in the second half. So we just have to make sure that we use this week and the following week as we get ready for Auburn. We got hurt in the first quarter (against Ole Miss), and we were able to overcome that. It's been a big thing for us to finish out games."

Hawkins is right. If Vanderbilt comes out flat against Auburn on Oct. 4 over Parent's Weekend, it is doubtful that second half heroics can save them. Coach Bobby Johnson must know the Commodores have been able to rescue themselves in the second half so far, and they need to focus on their intensity from the onset and continue it throughout the course of the game.