Instant Analysis: Vanderbilt Football Gets Statement Win on Senior Day

Vanderbilt Commodores On SI’s Joey Dwyer, Graham Baakko and Dylan Tovitz broke down Vanderbilt's win over Kentucky.

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops greets Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea after Vanderbilt won at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt’s playoff hopes are still alive.

Vanderbilt came away with a 45-17 victory over Kentucky in the final home game of its season. The Commodores were in control, especially defensively, from the start of the game.

Vanderbilt grabbed an early 17-0 lead off two touchdowns from wide receiver Tre Richardson. Later in the second quarter, Pavia connected with Tre Richardson yet again for the third touchdown following a Kentucky field goal to go up 24-3 going into halftime.

From a defensive standpoint, Vanderbilt dominated, allowing just 81 total yards in the first half compared to Vanderbilt’s 303 yards. The Commodores also forced two interceptions in the first half as well, including one from Kolbey Taylor on Senior Day.

In the second half, it was more of the same. Vanderbilt drove the ball down the field on the first possession of the second half for a Junior Sherrill touchdown off a beautiful Diego Pavia pass. The next possession, Vanderbilt continued its dominance as it drove down the field yet again and ended with a Pavia rushing touchdown to go up 38-3. In the third possession of the third quarter, Pavia eclipsed career-high in passing yards as he threw a touchdown to senior wide receiver Richie Hoskins.

With the win, Vanderbilt made a statement to the College Football Playoff committee. Time will tell how much style points end up factoring into the committee’s decision, but the fashion in which Vanderbilt won Saturday is not something to ignore. Currently, Vanderbilt sits at No. 14 in the latest poll, four spots behind the last team in the field.

Vanderbilt is looking to move ahead teams like Utah, BYU and Miami. It is possible that Vanderbilt’s statement win was enough to at least give the committee consideration on moving Vanderbilt ahead of one or two of those teams. Vanderbilt moves to 9-2 on the season with the win as it heads into Knoxville next week against Tennessee for rivalry weekend.

“It was a night for our seniors, and I'm really proud of the way the team rallied around that. They showed up and played and played in a way that represented the guys that have given so much to this program. Some of those guys we've talked about this week have been here for five years, Some of them for two, some of them one. Some of them have been here for eight months, but they've all left an imprint on our program, and that's a group that led us to the first undefeated season at home here since 1982. It's a group that's led us to nine regular season wins for the first time since 1915,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said.