per sportsline.com

New coach Bobby Johnson brings nine years of head coaching experience and new energy and hope to one of the nation's most beleaguered Division I-A football programs. But bringing a few wins to Vanderbilt isn't going to be easy. At least not this year.

Johnson inherits a program that hasn't had a winning season or a bowl trip since 1983. Vandy was 2-9 last season and finished last in the SEC in 2001 scoring defense, total defense and pass defense efficiency.

"We're going to have a long, long, hard road to hoe," said Johnson, who came to Vanderbilt from Division I-AA Furman. "We're going to have to play our best every week just to have a chance."

The Commodores, who return 16 starters, will have to do a better job of running the ball and stopping the run than they did the past two seasons. One of Johnson's first moves as head coach was to abandon Vanderbilt's spread shotgun attack and install a more basic I-formation attack, complete with some option.

The Commodores lost three-year starting quarterback Greg Zolman to graduation, but they appeared to gain a new vertical passing game in the process when junior Benji Walker and redshirt freshman Jay Cutler displayed an ability to throw the deep ball better than Zolman. With the return of receivers Dan Stricker and M.J. Garrett, the Commodores could become a solid passing team. That should help open at least a few holes for Norval McKenize and Ronald Hatcher, two unproven tailbacks who played well in the spring.

For the Commodores to be more competitive in the SEC, they'll have to make significant improvement on defense. Despite former coach Woody Widenhofer's reputation as an outstanding defensive coach, the Commodores rarely had the horses to make good on his schemes and fell apart under the weight of a pass-happy offense and a ton of defensive injuries last fall.

Vanderbilt's defensive problems start in the worst possible place: up front. The defensive line was already a question for the Commodores, but switching from a 3-4 to the 4-3 won't make things instantly better for the defensive front. For the Commodores to improve on the front, DEs Ryan Nungesser and Chuck Losey need to grow into the new system sooner rather than later.