[1] The team's head coach was James Franklin, who was in his first year at Vanderbilt.
Hired at Vanderbilt on December 17, 2010, he was previously the offensive coordinator and "head coach in waiting" at the University of Maryland.
Vanderbilt completed the 2011 regular season with an overall record of 6–6 and a mark of 2–6 in conference play, finishing in a tie with Kentucky for fourth place in the SEC East.
The seniors of the 2011 Vanderbilt football team became the first class in program history to qualify for two bowl games while at the school.
Vanderbilt had only been to bowls in 1955 VS Auburn, 1974 VS Texas Tech, 1982 VS Air Force, and 2008 VS Boston College.
At the end of the 2010 season, head coach Robbie Caldwell resigned from Vanderbilt.
[3] After a long nationwide coaching search, in which Gus Malzahn, Auburn's offensive coordinator, nearly accepted the job,[4] James Franklin was hired as the 27th head football coach at Vanderbilt University.
The class has been hailed as one of the best in Vanderbilt football history,[7] especially because Vanderbilt was able to persuade several prospects from larger and nationally known schools, such as Lafonte Thourogood from Virginia Tech, Dillon Van der Wal from Arizona State, and Barron Dixon from Mississippi State.
[8] Lafonte Thourogood and Dillon van der Wal were both rated as four star recruits by Scout.com.
One of college football's oldest rivalries, Vanderbilt and Old Miss have played 85 times since 1894.
Vanderbilt had a chance to tie the game with :12 left in the 4th quarter, but Carey Spear missed a 27-yard field goal and hooked it right.