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You will likely see a sign to that effect on ESPN's "College GameDay" this morning from Nashville. And lots of other witty one-liners, puns and those hilarious Roger Penrose quotes. See? Being smart -- as the Vanderbilt (4-0), Duke (3-1), Northwestern (5-0) and Stanford (3-2) football teams are proving -- is cool.
The motto behind this uprising of upper-academia schools shouldn't revolve around nerds. No need to perpetuate an idiotic stereotype. Would you call D.J. Moore a nerd to his face? No. No you would not.
Actually, Vanderbilt and Duke football players enjoying success is the opposite of nerdy. It's really, really cool.
We should all cheer for a student who goes to class and takes difficult courses and manages their time and, oh yeah, plays offense, defense and special teams (I'm looking at you, D.J.). These players are different.
"Without a doubt," said Duke coach David Cutcliffe who -- sorry, Tennessee fans -- is building a home in a Durham, N.C., community called Colvard Farms. "It's the communication skills, the accountability skills, the reliability skills. I'm just amazed at the amount of work they do. I'm pretty aware of all the papers they get done. The challenges and the demands by the faculty are far beyond what I've been used to, to be real honest with you."
One day during practice, Cutcliffe made a physics reference to punctuate a lesson to his players. He paused.
"By chance," he said, "how many of you have taken physics?"
Almost every single player on the team raised his hand.
"I don't think," Cutcliffe said, "that would happen many places."
Same story in Nashville. Only this caveat: The Commodores are actually ranked 19th nationally and still lead the SEC East in the month of October entering tonight's game against Auburn. We live in a world where Vanderbilt is ranked, Duke received a vote in the coaches' poll during Week 6 and Tennessee is completely absent.
Former Vanderbilt chancellor Gordon Gee once told me that, out of 100 SEC recruits, only five will meet the school's high academic standards. The Commodores are still winning. Right now, being smart rules. And other SEC coaches can appreciate what Bobby Johnson is accomplishing at Vanderbilt.
"I'm happy for them," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "Quite frankly, Bobby Johnson is one of the finest men in coaching, and he deserves to have success there. They are legit. This is not a one-time lucky deal."
Forget the game we play every year trying to figure out if Vanderbilt can qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 1982. This is how good the Commodores are this year: We can speculate on Vanderbilt's chances of winning the SEC East, and not everyone will laugh hysterically.
Games against Auburn and Mississippi State are definitely winnable considering the quarterback situations on those teams. Georgia and Florida will be tough to beat, but Vanderbilt could certainly beat Kentucky and Tennessee to finish 6-2. Georgia still has to play LSU and Auburn. Florida still has to play LSU and Georgia.
You don't think ...
"They can play with anybody," said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, already a victim of the Commodores. "Who knows what can happen at Vandy?"
These days, fewer SEC teams want to find out. Any Volunteers?
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