Vanderbilt Preview

I am currently spending the night just outside of St. Louis before heading over to Nashville tomorrow for Northwestern's opening game! This game has a great deal of personal importance for me because, during my college application process, I could not decide between Northwestern and Vanderbilt, before deciding on NU at the last possible moment. A win here would further solidify my decision as the correct one. I would like to be able to provide a detailed preview of the game, but, the fact is, I don't know enough about Vandy's team to do so. Here's what I do know:

• Vandy is the NU of the SEC--a small, private institution in a conference full of large, state schools. Like us, they generally have to get by with players who are less-recruited than those of their competition.
• Vandy is typically near the bottom of their conference, and last year was no exception, as they went 2-10.  They won a bowl in '08, however, so they are capable of having a good season. 
• They have a new coach. Bobby Johnson retired from the position unexpectedly during the offseason. He was replaced by former offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell.  

My prediction: NU by 10