College Sports News - ACC

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Vanderbilt and Duke meet Saturday in Nashville in a game that has bowl ramifications.

And not the Quiz Bowl.

Two of college football's feel-good stories of 2008, with strong academic reputations, play Saturday with a win making Vanderbilt (5-2) bowl eligible for the first time since 1982. Duke (3-3) has a

tougher challenge, starting a string of four road trips over the next five games. A loss Saturday could wipe out postseason chances for a team that already has won more games this season since

winning four in 2003.

Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who knows the press box here well from his days as Tennessee's offensive coordinator, credits coach Bobby Johnson with turning the Commodores around.

"Bobby is kind of 'slow and steady wins the race.' He's taken that approach. ... Every year I coached against Bobby Johnson ... you just saw his teams get more confident, better, more speed on

the field, (and) they've got the best corner in the Southeastern Conference, bar none," Cutcliffe said of D.J. Moore.

Both teams come in having lost two straight. The Blue Devils lost their only road game 27-0 at Georgia Tech two weeks ago. Last week, they blew a 24-14 second-half lead to Miami en route to a

49-31 defeat. Still, the Devils see signs of progress.

Vandy's losses came on the road: 17-14 at Mississippi State, and 24-14 last week to then-No. 10 Georgia. That dropped the Commodores out of the Top 25 for the first time in a month, and they look forward to returning home where they are undefeated in three games.

"The comfort level is what really makes the difference," Johnson said. "We don't have to get on an airplane and we can work out in our home stadium before the game. We have a very active

student body right now and we love all of the home advantages we can get at home."

Johnson also seeks a comfort level at quarterback, where junior Mackenzi Adams gets a second straight start after replacing struggling Chris Nickson against Auburn and Mississippi State.

Adams struggled last week though he threw two touchdown passes to Jamie Graham and moved the offense better. However, he threw two interceptions and averaged just 4.1 yards per pass.

"I think he gives us a chance to spread the field and he gives defenses trouble because he can run and throw the ball," Johnson said.

The constant for Vanderbilt has been good defense. Vandy ranks 24th nationally in points allowed per game (17.4), 15th in sacks and fourth in interceptions.

The key to Duke's offense is quarterback Thaddeus Lewis. The junior has thrown for 1,101 yards, an Atlantic Coast Conference-leading nine touchdowns and three interceptions, but has

struggled as the competition has improved. He's completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes for 227 yards the last two games.

Lewis' key target will be Eron Riley, a player the Commodores recruited aggressively. Riley has 29 receptions for 336 yards and six touchdowns this fall, and led the ACC in yards per catch his

first three seasons. He has a nagging hand injury, which may have led to him dropping some passes last week.

"He's all right," Lewis said. "I talked to him, said `Man, we all have bad games. But you know what, we've got six left. So right now, let's have six good games left with no dropped passes, and

I'll have no bad balls thrown to you and we'll go out on a good note.' One thing we've got to do is practice the way we want to play, and carry it over to the game on Saturday.

Moore likely will cover Riley.

Defensively, Duke gave up 454 yards to Miami. Middle linebacker Michael Tauiliili is the ACC's leading tackler and ranks sixth nationally with 11 stops a game.

Johnson is adamant that the favored Commodores aren't overlooking Duke even after winning the last six in this series including a 45-28 win in 2006. Still, he acknowledges what's at stake for Vandy.

"We're not trying to hide it (bowl eligibility) and we're not ignoring it by saying this and that. That is part of our story this year and you can't ignore that big thing that is sitting right over there staring at us," he said.