Vanderbilt is one of the biggest surprises of the season. The Commodores were picked to finish in last place in the Southeastern Conference, but they are 6-4 overall and tied for eighth place with LSU and Missouri.
Vandy started the season with an overtime win over Virginia Tech, but two weeks later lost to Georgia Southern.
The Commodores responded from that loss with an upset win over Alabama on October 5th and Vandy also has league wins over Kentucky and Auburn. Texas only beat Vanderbilt by three points and the Commodores lost in a double overtime to Missouri.
Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea will certainly get Coach of the Year votes. He’s in his fourth season at his alma mater and the Commodores already have their most wins since 2018.
Lea is 6-15 on the road at Vanderbilt. But they are coming off a bye week.
The Nashville native left Notre Dame to take the head coaching job at Vanderbilt. He was Brian Kelly’s defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2020, helping the Fighting Irish get into the College Football Playoff in 2018. He was hired at Notre Dame in 2017 as the Irish’s linebackers coach.
Graduate senior Diego Pavia has sparked the Vanderbilt turnaround. He’s a transfer from New Mexico and led the Lobos to an upset win over Auburn last year.
Pavia has thrown for 1,843 yards, 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 628 yards and five touchdowns.
Running back Sedrick Alexander is second on the team in rushing, but he’s averaging just 3.8 yards a carry.
Tight end Eli Stowers leads Vanderbilt in receiving. The Denton, Texas, native started his career at Texas A&M and spent last season at New Mexico State. He’s a freak of an athlete with 42 catches for 557 yards and four touchdowns.
Sophomore Junior Sherrill is Vandy’s most explosive receiver with 21 catches for 331 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Sophomore Randon Fontenette is Vanderbilt’s best player on defense. He set the tone in the win over Alabama by intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown on the opening possession. Fontenette has seven pass break ups and 3.5 sacks.
Vanderbilt kicker Brock Taylor has a big leg. He’s made five field goals of 50 yards or more and his long is 57. But he missed a 31-yarder to tie the game in the double overtime loss to Missouri.
Vanderbilt only has six turnovers. Three interceptions and three lost fumbles. They also do an excellent job on third down, converting 46% of the time. The 54 penalties they’ve committed is also tied for fewest in the SEC.