College Gameday is Coming and They're Going To See a Game With Playoff Implications
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NASHVILLE—-They’re coming.
Yes, those guys. College Gameday’s Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Stanford Steve and Pete Thamel will all be out on Vanderbilt’s campus spotlighting this Vanderbilt football program and its rise for the first time since 2008.
It’s the type of moment that has seemed like a far off pipe dream for this program for so long. It’s coming to it, though.
“This is gonna be an incredible scene,” Herbstreit tweeted on Sunday. “Can’t wait for Saturday! Congratulations to Coach-the Vandy program-and especially the players for creating this recognition-gonna be a great week!!”
Herbstreit and the Gameday crew considered finding their way to Vanderbilt’s campus last season after its win over No. 1 Alabama, but in hindsight it appeared as if Vanderbilt wasn’t quite ready for that honor at that point. It was a team that was heading towards a 7-6 finish and a harsh reminder of the difficulty of the SEC. It was a great story, but not a contender.
Not this time, though.
This Vanderbilt team is a 6-1 for the first time since 1950, it’s without a glaring weakness, it has two ranked wins and–most importantly–it's a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. Its story of a chip on the shoulder mentality and the idea that its group of “misfits” morphing themselves into a lovable underdog precedes it, but Vanderbilt vs. Missouri is the type of game that could’ve gotten the College Gameday spotlight without one of college football’s best stories being a part of it.
Missouri is ranked No. 15 in the country after an overtime win on the road against Auburn, it’s as good of a team as Vanderbilt has faced at FirstBank Stadium this season. Vanderbilt, well, is the No. 10 team in the country–above Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee, LSU, Texas and Michigan–and has earned every bit of that ranking. The idea of tuning into one of its games is no longer just to see if it can pull off an unbelievable upset, it’s to see a game that has legitimate College Football Playoff implications.
Vanderbilt is favored in one of those for the second-consecutive week, by the way.
“I just think ‘undefeated and ranked, you watch them on tape and they’re legit,’” Coughlin said in the hours prior to Vanderbilt’s eventual loss to Alabama. “The offense is better than it was last year. We’re getting in October now, man. Everything’s going to rise to the top, right? Vanderbilt definitely deserves the praises again.”
As this thing gets deeper and deeper, it gets more and more serious for this Vanderbilt team. Every win gets it one step closer to its goal of a national championship, every loss makes its margins smaller, every dazzling play by its spunky quarterback raises the probability that he’s a serious factor in the Heisman Trophy race as his final college season winds down.
Vanderbilt was selected as a featured team on Gameday two weeks ago as it went into Alabama 5-0 for the first time since 2008, but this outing is different. It’s all about Vanderbilt and what it’s done to this point. It’s about acknowledging what Clark Lea has done with a program that used to only be appealing because of its location.
“If you build it, they’ll come,” Kevin Costner says in Field of Dreams. Vanderbilt’s fanbase, a multitude of celebrities–including Theo Von, Dansby Swanson, Jay Cutler, Noah Kahan, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell already have. Now College Gameday’s crew will, too.
Who knows what happens Saturday at 2:30 P.M. central as Vanderbilt and Missouri duke it out, but a few things about the day are guaranteed. There will be a party on West End with the main subjects of attention being the focal points of this Vanderbilt program.
McAfee will be standing on chairs dancing, Saban will be raving about the job Lea has done and one of Vanderbilt’s own will be on the set picking the outcome of this thing. Time for Vanderbilt to find the–well earned–spotlight again before it’s platformed by an ABC broadcast again.
“Legendarily beautiful Nashville, Tennessee.. I CAN’T WAIT to get DAHN there and celebrate the hell out of what Coach Lea, Diego, and the entire Vandy Community has built,” McAfee said in a Sunday tweet. “Anytime College GameDay goes somewhere it hasn’t been in a long time.. it usually ends up pretty epic. Let’s GOOOOO.”
_(1)-b3e453dfe426b2dd4b83a12540ebdb37.jpeg "Joey Dwyer")
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
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