Everything Clark Lea Said after Vanderbilt’s 34-27 ReliaQuest Bowl Defeat

Vanderbilt Football’s historic season came to a bitter end Saturday with a 34-27 loss to Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl, as an early hole and defensive breakdowns proved difficult to overcome.

The Commodores were hurt by key first half mistakes, including an illegal punt from Nick Haberer that gave the Hawkeyes the ball in the red zone late in the first half, and entered the locker room down two scores. Despite a late offensive surge, Vanderbilt was unable to get the late defensive stop it needed to complete the comeback.

Here’s everything Clark Lea said to the media after the game:

Opening Statement:

Incredible experience for our program, and what a first-class operation, what an incredible week here in Tampa, and we're so grateful to have had the chance to compete today against a really good Iowa team. Credit to Iowa Coach Ferentz and his staff, his players. They played better football than we did today, and that team we played against is going to make it hard on you if you don't play a clean game. And we did not, we did not do that. The three phases never really synced up. I thought early on, when we got our cleats in the ground. On defense, you know, offensively, we were taking sacks and putting ourselves in tough situations to get out of. Obviously, the special teams penalty there to end the first half was, was a gut punch. You know, we had what we needed to overcome it. But, you know, that's tough water to take on in the middle eight, where we've been really good, and then coming out of half to go three, and I'll have the delay game on the fourth and inches that kept us out of a potential conversion, and then obviously, credit to their punt returner, nice return, and they're able to punch one in on our defense. We ended the game one stop away, you know, and that really hurts. But I told the guys, you know, there's no one phase, no one player that takes responsibility for this. We all own, me included, our staff included, and that's really not the point. You know, that's a painful way to finish, but that's what's great about the arena. You know, you go in, you're not guaranteed you got to go in, and we didn't do that. But that doesn't take anything away from that group of players and that coaching staff and that support staff, what they poured into this, we're disappointed, but my emotion right now has nothing to do with that. It's the end, and this team has set a new bar for the program, and I'm going to miss those guys. And luckily, we'll bring enough of them back to keep building, and we'll find others to pull in and aim for more. And this group has set such a high bar for us, the first 10 win season in program history. I mean, that's the best football team in Vanderbilt football history, and I want to make sure those guys are proud of that despite how we feel, the pain we feel, it will resolve. You know, we will get past it, and when we're past it, we'll be left with something that we can be really proud of. And for me as that coach, it's something I get to build upon, which is so exciting. So thank you to all the fans that showed up, specifically Commodore nation for being here in support of us again. I want to say thank you to Candace Lee, our Athletic Director, and Chancellor Diermeier for being here today too, for their support. I want to say thank you to my family for being here also. Thank you, Jackie, Mara, Clark and Allison, and a big thanks to the team and the staff for all the hard work we put in.

And with that, I'm happy to answer questions.

Yeah, the punt play where you had the penalty, what were you intending to do on that play?

Well, one of their most dangerous players is their punt returner, and so we knew that coming on. And I think there's, there's times where you can overthink that stuff, and we've covered some dangerous guys this season. And you know, we don't try to like, we believe in who we are, but one of the ways you can neutralize a return is just by rolling out and extending the amount of time the punt holds the ball. So different than hang time, it makes it effective on a rugby pun, that's what the attempt was. I thought, you know, I love the play. I think Nick just lost track of where he was in the field. There was a there was a time there where I was yelling, run, run, run, you know. And had it been a more manageable, you know, conversion attempt, I think that there would have been room for that. But Nick, Nick Haberer has been fantastic this season. We probably used him a little more than we wanted to today, but, you know, it's a great lesson for us all. It'll be on our team state from here on out, but unfortunate situation, but it was totally within the strategy we were trying to accomplish and neutralizing their punt return in that moment. To keep in mind, at the end of the half, you just, you just want them on a long field. You do not want to give them obsessions midfield or across the 50. And it felt like we were on track for that. We just lost, lost track.

Back here in an era where maybe bowl games are losing their relevance a little bit, both you and Kirk Ferentz shut that down yesterday, shut it down today with a hard fought game. How important is it that both starting quarterbacks played in the game too? You don't see that too often.

Well, I think I can speak for their quarterback too. I mean, these guys are tough competitors, and it's no surprise that they would show up and play. And it's, I think it's reflective of the DNA of a program. You know, I said this when we accepted the invitation here. I mean, we love playing football. If there's a way we can put four quarters back on the scoreboard and go play some more, because we would do that if you want to maybe play again tomorrow. But that's the spirit of our program and and obviously Iowa has that in their DNA too, and I got so much respect for them. Thing, when you play in a game like that, you just, you realize they're just not going to let you make mistakes. You know, they're just not going to let you get off schedule. They're just not going to let you have a penalty on a on a punt and not make it pay for it. And that's the team we want to be, too, and that's the team we've been a lot this year. The difference in this game is, you know, we made mistakes and we weren't able to play our way out of it, and that's a credit to them and how they play so but look, my emotion, I mean, I swear to you, if we could do this again, I would do it. And I know that's the spirit of our team too. So that's the significance of all opportunities. And as long as they're going to give me a chance to play another game, I'm going to play another game.

Clark, now that that's it for Diego and this team, two parter: how should people remember Diego and his career here? And then how should people remember this team?

Well, I think part of remembering this team first is the work we do to ensure that they're remembered as a team that started something that has deep roots and truly lasts. You know? I hope this doesn't just become a blip season, right? It's got to be something that we can pull forward. And my goal would be that in 10 years, we draw a line back and say that's where this all began. And I think we can do that. And then to say also that Diego is a huge part of that, you know, and, you know, I think yeah, he's the best player in the country. He's he's the best competitor I've ever met in my life. He's the best teammate I've ever met in my life. I mean, this guy has redefined what it means to connect with people, and everyone wants to have an opinion about him. And, I all I know is this: you want him on your team and we're going to miss him, but also we're not going to forget him. You know, he's left his mark on our program and, and I'm so excited for him for what's next. I'm so excited for him to be able to shoot a shot in the NFL, and, man, I'm never betting against that guy. And I hope the right people have paid attention to his season, because this dude has been doubted his entire life. And, you know, everyone's wanting, you're going to want to say something about, you know what he can and can't do. This guy is going to make it. He's not only going to make it, he's going to he's going to find a way to play at the level. He's found a way to play it for us. I believe that with all my heart. So we love Diego, and we're going to miss him, but, but we won't forget him, and we'll make sure that that teams to come are reminded about the things he did as a part of this program.

Every time Iowa needed a third down, it seemed like Vonnahme had a big catch. What led to his success today?

Well, they were able to find some sofy spots in zone. Did the challenges you're, you're, you're in some zone pressures where you're, you're giving up a seam ball, and he's, you know, there's one in my mind that he just was wide open, and one of those critical drives at the end that we needed to stop. I think other times, you know, he was able to beat man coverage, you know, he was able to create space for himself, and the quarterback made a good throw away from coverage. And so it's a really good player, you know. So credit to him. We did not do enough. Our third down performance was lacking today. And again, some of that is on our end, some of that's on their end, but certainly he was a thorn in our side today.

Did Iowa do anything that surprised you that you weren't expecting?

No, I think they played to their identity. I think that's why they were as effective as they were. I felt like in the first half, we did not play to an identity. You know, I think we were trying to do too much. And so there were times where we were in a go zone and, you know, we took a sack because we're trying to get in the right play, and we're not seeing it as clean as we need to see it. I felt like they had their stretch run game going. I felt like we settled in against it. You know, when they got in the red zone, they were able to get the ball in the end zone. The first drive was unfortunate. You know, we got the third down, and we felt like we had a chance for the sack, and again, credit to the quarterback. I mean, he made a really good play. So it's really good team, a team that has identity. I think they played that identity. They did a better job than we did, and that's why they won.

Did you think about maybe going tempo earlier? I know that's a tough thing with them, because they get you three and out, they're right back on the field, but walk through the decision of that.

Yeah, we like to get into that as we kind of create success on offense. So you know, when you're when you're able to get the the defense on their heels, you kind of push the pedal down, and that's, that's where it's we're most effective. We don't, we don't line up and just run a tempo offense, you know, from snap one for the reasons you're saying so it, you know, we wanted to establish a run game. We wanted to be able to spread the ball around and do the things that we've done effectively. Think if we would have found some success and gotten in sync offensively early, we would have been able to push the pedal down some, but they got us off schedule, you know. I mean, we were behind the sticks because of penalties on offense. We were in situations on third down where we gave up sacks. I mean, I think in the first half, the majority of our the majority of our possessions ended on a third down sack. You know, you're probably one first down away from being able to push the pedal down some get to some tempo. Second half, we got behind, and we had no choice, you know. So we had to, we had to get going. But again, a credit to them in the first half for keeping us off schedule.

You lost Jordan White at one point, I think, really early in the game. What was the injury? How did that affect what you wanted to do?

Well, Jordan, yeah, he's got a knee. It's not anything that I think is going to keep him out for long. But it was, it was inhibiting his ability to to move today, and so he wasn't able to come back out again. I think he's going to be okay when you lose your center, that's a big deal, you know. I mean, that guy's been really important to us, but I want to credit Cade McConnell for stepping in there, and Sterling Porcher played a bunch of snaps for us today. And, you know, those guys stepped up, and that's part of having a good unit, you know. I'm glad Jordan is going to be okay. I hate to see that, but he's got a bright football future ahead, and he's got a lot he's a lot of snaps at him.

With Diego, Eli and others moving on, how good do you feel about Vanderbilt football going forward?

Well, I feel great about it, and not because it's straightforward, you know, we have work to do. We'll have some big shoes to fill, but that's part of the excitement of this. You know, we're gonna figure it out as we go. We'll have to change identity in some ways. We'll have to, you know, change some systems, bnd we'll have to win games differently next year than we did this year. But again, that's the fun of it. And what I do believe in is I got a locker room of guys that are that are connected, that love one another, that love playing football, and that will be returning to take this further. And that's a great starting point. We'll have work to do over the next couple of weeks to see where we net out in the portal, and what we need to do to make sure we keep it going. We're going to introduce, I think, 20 freshmen in January, which will be great to get those guys careers off and running and the work of a coach begins. But I feel great about I'm excited about the future, and excited to be a Vanderbilt long term, and can't wait for the next steps.

Thank you guys very much.