Chick-fil-A Bowl: Vanderbilt on "short list"

On Wednesday Chick-fil-A Bowl officials released a short list of teams being considered to participate in the New Year's Eve game. Vanderbilt is among eight teams from the ACC and SEC that are being considered to play in the New Year's Eve contest.

LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt are the schools being considered from the SEC.

Leeman Bennett, chairman of the Chick-fil-A Bowl Selection Committee, wrote some good things about Vanderbilt.

"The Commodores finished the year as one of the hottest teams in the SEC winning six straight and 7 of their last 8 games," wrote Bennett. "That streak and their decisive win against Wake Forest on the road will earn them a spot on our short list this week and will put them on our final board on Selection Sunday. Coach Franklin has made his mark on the Vandy program with an 8-4 mark this year and there are certainly good days ahead for this team – including a chance the Vandy Nation may Anchor Down in Atlanta."

The Chick-fil-A Bowl has an SEC team payout of $2,932,500. The game will kickoff at 6:30 CT on New Year's Eve and will be shown on ESPN.

The ACC has three finalists to play in the Atlanta bowl including Clemson, Florida State and N.C. State.

The Music City and Gator Bowls are also believed to be seriously considering the Commodores.