FanHouse Larry Smith

Vanderbilt hasn't won in Baton Rouge, La., since 1951, when I Love Lucy made its TV debut. The redhead had a nice career, so maybe it's about time the Commodores make a little history, too, in their SEC opener Saturday night at LSU. Can it happen?

"The only thing I can say is that we have to go down there anyway, so let's make the most of it," said Vanderbilt head coach Bobby Johnson, whose team is a two-touchdown underdog.

As promised, Vanderbilt unveiled its no-huddle offense with smashing success in last Saturday's 45-0 victory over Western Carolina. The Commodores had 620 total yards and produced their highest single-game rushing total (433) in more than 30 years. They ran 95 plays (70 rushing attempts), had possession for 34:44 and didn't commit a single procedure penalty.

Was Vanderbilt's 2008 football season an aberration?

The Commodores recorded three victories over ranked opponents for the first time in program history, recorded their first postseason victory in 53 years and enjoyed their first winning season since 1982. With 19 returning starters overall, an established defense and a change of philosophy on offense to the no-huddle, Vanderbilt is determined to prove last season wasn't a fluke.

Today the SEC released the Coaches' Preseason Football Team. There were three unanimous selections: Tennessee safety Eric Berry, LSU offensive lineman Ciron Black, and Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones. Noticing something surprising? Yep, someone didn't vote for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. And before you throw Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt under the bus, assuming he voted for his player, Jevan Snead, over Tebow, keep this in mind, coaches weren't allowed to vote for their own players. So presumably someone other than Nutt left Tebow off the first team.

Wow.

But that's not even the most surprising detail.

Between 1993 and 1995, the Canadian Football League came up with the brilliant idea, led by commissioner Larry Smith -- the United States, presumably bored with the NFL, was ready for 12-on-12, 110-yard action. The result? Eight teams from Memphis to Sacramento, including the only non-Canadian team to hoist the Grey Cup, the 1994 Baltimore Stallions. I wonder if they had a parade?

Why is this all relevant? Because former NFL wide receiver Oronde Gadsden is trying to bring the CFL back to America, due in part to the unstable future of the Arena Football League.

Former USC, Arizona, Tulane and Missouri coach Larry Smith died Monday, succumbing to leukemia and lymphoma.

Smith coached for the greater part of two decades, compiling a 143-126-7 (.531) career record between 1976 and 2000. He is fondly remembered at Arizona for starting the first five of a ten-game win streak against rival Arizona State.

He also coached USC to within two games of the national championship in 1988 before falling to Notre Dame in the season finale and Michigan in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans finished with a 10-2 record that year.

Smith left football after the 2000 season, retiring to Arizona. He spent the last two years as an analyst for an Arizona television station.