It's been a surreal day here on the Vanderbilt campus. You grow up watching College GameDay, never imagining that you'd get the opportunity to see Corso, Fowler, Herbstreit and the rest of the crew up close.

Yet, here I was, smack in the middle of The Commons, holding up my "Conquerand Prevail.com" poster (shameless, I know) as these football icons talked about our Vanderbilt Commodores.

The atmosphere was electric (both Corso and Herbstreit said afterwards that it was the best Friday crowd they've seen in quite some time). The signs were hilarious ("Lee Corso scores more than Auburn" and "Dore Eagle" were a couple of my personal favorites). The weather was perfect. It truly doesn't get much better than this.

I caught up with Chancellor Nick Zeppos after the segment and he could not stop smiling, and who can blame him? It was an extremely proud moment for this university. The best part about it all? I have a feeling that tomorrow is going to be even more special.

I also had the opportunity to interview Herbstreit following the show and, I've got to admit, the guy is pretty cool. He answered questions on a number of topics, including Vanderbilt's chances tomorrow, the appeal of GameDay and his favorite part about the job. Enjoy.

Q: How do you like Vanderbilt?

Kirk Herbstreit: Unbelievable. Absolutely beautiful. I kind of envisioned it looking like this, but once you get here, it's just spectacular. The whole city is really clean and nice. You feel healthy. The weather's perfect. I called my wife and said we might have to investigate this a little bit. This is very cool. I like it a lot.

Four weeks ago, was Vanderbilt even on the radar for GameDay?

KH: I'll just be real candid with you. There are certain schools that, because of their past, not that you have anything against them, you just don't really think about them as far as a potential site. The greatest thing about the progress of our show over the years is there really isn't anything that's locked and loaded as a foregone conclusion. Every week our show responds to what happened.

Last week is a great example. We thought we were gonna go to Madison, Wisconsin, and Wisconsin lost. Then, it was, well then we're probably gonna go to Lincoln (Nebraska) for the game with Missouri. They lost. So, then it was let's look at the next most intriguing game nationally and it's Auburn at Vanderbilt. It's become a really cool story nationally so here we are.

Vandy's chances tomorrow?

KH: Outstanding. The thing about Vandy is you look at their numbers and you think, "They're last in the SEC in total offense, they're last in the SEC in total defense, how are they winning games?" Then, you break down their film and you see they're playing smart. They're winning the turnover margin by a large margin. They lead the nation in that category. They're not making mistakes on offense. They're good in special teams, and that adds up in a lot of cases to win a lot of games.

What's amazing for me, since I've got to call the game(tomorrow night) as well, is when you look at how many players they lost from last year's team who are in the NFL , and it's like, this is supposed to be a rebuilding year. Five new offensive linemen and here they are, which I think tells you about the job coach (Bobby Johnson) is doing.

So that means next week you'll be at Duke?

KH: Hey, the way college football is anymore, it's wide open. You never know where you could end up.

How was this Friday crowd?

KH: Best we've had this year. There have been a handful that probably have been his big over the past few years that I can think of. This was spectacular. For them to turnout just shows the excitement they have for their team. A lot of times people try to give us for credit for the show and things, and we just feel like we're just kind of a symbol of the sport and the passion that the sport has.

We show up and people show up to let the nation know they're excited about their team. That's what cool about this show tomorrow. This gives the Vanderbilt fans a chance to showcase their football program for the first time in a long time and let the nation that Vanderbilt and Bobby Johnson are doing a great job.

How old were you in 1982?

KH: I was 12 years old. It's been a long time.

They're hungry.

KH: I know they are. You can sense that. I think they feed off of people questioning them and having that traditional, "Oh, that's Vanderbilt." I think they love that, it seems to me. One thing I learn more and more about 18- to 22-year olds is that when you collectively challenge them, they seem to play their best as a group, and I think that's what's going on. Plus, they've got a little confidence going right now. You beat teams like South Carolina and Ole Miss, you start walking around feeling good about yourself.

What goes into preparing for GameDay?

KH: Just on the phone constantly, reading a lot of things, it really never stops. You're either talking to a producer or you're talking to a coach or you're talking to a player. The whole week is just constant preparation.

Favorite part of this job?

KH: Coming out to these college campuses and seeing different traditions and different venues. College football, to me, is the best thing going. I could be at USC, I could be here at Vanderbilt -- you just saw Friday SportsCenter -- you could be at Ann Arbor, and you could be anywhere and you get the same fans are tailgating and they're passionate and they think their team's the best and that's what I love about it. I love being out about the fans. They cheer, they boo, they just love their team.

Props to Oliver Wolfe for taking the photo (he's got some great ones of the crew that I'll be putting up later) and make sure to check back later tonight for my interview Lee Corso along with my thoughts on tomorrow's game.