Column: Nashville has been kind to seniors

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four years ago, a Louisville kid named Corey Peters committed to play football for UK not knowing what to expect.

The program had a coaching staff still struggling to make good on its promise to turn things around.

Young talent was brewing, but no considerable ground had been made up in terms of wins and losses.

Everybody in blue and white wanted to win, and they all thought they could win. They just hadn’t won yet.

Still a high schooler, what was Peters supposed to expect?

Whatever it was, he said he didn’t necessarily expect to be bowl eligible in all four of his college years.

Thanks to UK’s win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, he is.

Peters and his fellow seniors make up the first ever senior class in UK’s history to have gained bowl eligibility in all four seasons. Peters said it happens to players at other schools all the time, especially fellow Southeastern Conference schools.
But at UK? Isn’t football just a fun little bridge between summer and basketball season? Not anymore.

“When we got here, we just wanted to build something positive,” Peters said. “But after that first year, I knew that not being bowl eligible wasn’t an option.”

And clinching that fourth-straight bowl eligible season in Nashville made sense. Peters’ first two bowl games, the 2007 and 2008 Music City Bowls, were played across town at LP Field. Factor in the Cats’ 27-20 win at Vanderbilt in 2007, and this senior class is now 4-0 in the Music City.

Nashville’s been awfully kind to these players.

Would they mind another trip across the Bluegrass Parkway and down I-65 in December for another Music City Bowl?

“I’m OK with any bowl,” Peters said. “Of course we want to go to better bowl games and continue to improve. But if Nashville would have us, we’d love to be here.”

UK earned its sixth win not by blowing out its opponent. Instead, much like what happened when UK won at Auburn in October, the Cats were down at halftime and called on the defense to step up.

“I told the defense we had to shut them out in the second half,” Brooks said. “Pure and simple.”

So the defense took ownership of the line of scrimmage, knowing Vanderbilt’s passing attack was already limited. Not only did the Cats outscore Vandy 14-0 in the second half,  but UK held Vanderbilt to just 31 total yards after halftime.

Defensive coordinator Steve Brown said he told his players just to have confidence in coverage, because the Commodores’ less-than-stellar passing game went for 122 yards in the first half.

Not all of Brown’s defensive players are seniors like Peters, and they may not understand the significance of gaining that bowl eligibility. If they play with more passion in the second half, Brown thought, things might be easier.

Brown said the players came out with that confidence. As a result, Vanderbilt passed for just five yards in the second half.

“He’s told us that before,” Peters said in reference to Brooks’ second-half challenge to the defense. “I don’t think the result has ever been this good, though.”

And just like that, Peters is eligible for his fourth bowl in as many years suiting up for the Cats. Is that what he expected when he signed up for UK football? Not necessarily.

But because of what this senior class has done, UK prospects from here on out may think along those lines.

As well they should.

James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel.com.