Aggressive style doesn’t faze coach: Jay Fullam made his presence known in Vanderbilt’s opening week loss to Northwestern. Playing in his first college game, the redshirt freshman free safety forced two fumbles. But he was flagged for a high hit on the Northwestern quarterback that gave the Wildcats a first down with 1:45 left, preserving a 23-21 win. He also committed a personal foul that led to a Northwestern field goal on the opening drive. Despite the miscues, Vanderbilt coach Robbie Caldwell told The (Nashville) Tennessean he had no problems with Fullam’s aggressive play. “I would tell Jay Fullam to make those same two plays exactly like he made them,” Caldwell told the newspaper. Fullam says he won’t curb his aggressive style of tackling when the Commodores host LSU Saturday night. “It’s the last thing on my mind when I’m going downhill,” he told the newspaper. “All I’m thinking about is getting them on the ground. I’m going to do it, one way or another.” The LSU-Vanderbilt game kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be aired on ESPNU. The Tigers are a 10-point favorite, according to online sports books.
Champs look to repeat: The New Orleans Saints begin the defense of their Super Bowl title tonight, hosting the Minnesota Vikings in the first game of the 2010 NFL season. This is the seventh year for the NFL Opening Kickoff Game, and Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks says the defending Super Bowl champions have won every one of the previous matchups. In 2007, the Saints lost to the Indianapolis Colts 41-10 in the first game of the year. “While there’s always a worthy adversary on the other sideline, the banner-hanging defending champs are 6-0 in this set-up, with a healthy 11.2 point average margin of victory,” Banks says. The Saints also get the bonus of having 11 days off until their next game: They play the San Francisco 49ers in a Monday night matchup on Sept. 20.
Former Tiger in town: David Toms will be in Baton Rouge at 5 p.m. Sept. 16 for the official unveiling of the new University Club golf course. Toms, who played golf at LSU, supervised the redesign of the 18-hole course with designer Jim Lipe. Attendees can view the course and participate in a drawing, the winner of which will play three holes with Toms, LSU men’s golf coach Chuck Winstead and LSU women’s golf coach Karen Bahnsen. For more information, go to universityclubbr.com.
