Who's Your Doormat Now SEC! Vanderbilt 5-0

Check the SEC East standings. No your are not living in bizzaro world, the Vanderbilt Commodores lead the toughest division in college football. Fitting in a year where Duke, Stanford, Northwestern, the usual punching bags of their conferences are having their day in the sun.

Saturday night 19th ranked Vanderbilt shined under the bright lights of a national telecast defeating 13th ranked Auburn 14-13 in a grinding, ole fashioned SEC game. The Commodores are 5-0 for the first time since 1943.

The 'Dores feel that finally, they have turned a corner as a legitimate SEC contender.

"The attitude in the locker room throughout the season has been to expect to win." said wide receiver George Smith "We've turned a corner in the program. We've brought in better players and work hard to bring a winning attitude to our work."

"Auburn is a great SEC team and we played in a great atmosphere tonight." Back up quarterback Mackenzi Adams said. "The win does validate us in the conference, but we're focused on making ourselves better as a team."

Adams came off the bench after starting quarterback Chris Nickson aggravated a shoulder injury. All Adams did is throw for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead Vanderbilt to their first win over Auburn since the 1955 Gator Bowl.

"I've been prepared to start the entire time and am ready to go." Adams said "We split reps throughout practice this week and he looked good. It's a good feeling to help the team and get the win."

All Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville could do is tip his hat to Adams.

"He did good. That's the third backup quarterback a team has brought in on us and done pretty well." Tuberville said. "He did well against us last year. He threw the ball well. They hit us on deep crossing routes. Him sprinting out was a big key to the game. He threw it on the money on the run. They made plays. It's not like we didn't give them anything."

As the only private school in the SEC, Vanderbilt has challenges the other 11 state institutions don't have. For years is was said that Vanderbilt was only in the SEC to raise the leagues academic standing. It seems the Commodores finally have a formula that works.

Vanderbilt hasn't had a winning season or a bowl appearance since 1982. A win next week against Mississippi State in Starkville would be Vandy's 6th win which would mean at least a trip to Shreveport.

Finally after years of frustration, things are looking dandy at Vandy.

Photos Courtesy: Dipti Vaidya/The Tennessean

SEC East Standings

Vanderbilt 3-0 5-0

Florida 2-1 4-1

Georgia 1-1 4-1

S. Carolina 1-2 4-2

Kentucky 0-1 4-1

Tennessee 0-2 2-3